IC-NRLF 


SB 


M43 


to 

;CJ 


PROJECTS    FOR  THE 
HIGH   SCHOOL 


mpfe  Materials  for  the  Junior  and  Senior  High 

School 


Edited  by  CHARLES  H.  ELLIOTT 
and  CHARLES  S.  CROW 


PUBLISHED  BY 


NEW  BRUNSWICK,  NEW  JERSEY 


These  projects  have  been  planned,  developed  and 
reported  by  those  New  Jersey  teachers  enrolled  in 
the  Extension  Courses  in  the  Project  Method  of 
Instruction. 


Copyright  1921  by  Charles  S.  Crow  and 
Charles  H.  Elliott. 


Copies  of  this  bulletin  are  sold  at  25  cents  each. 
They  may  be  ordered  from  the  Director  of  Ex- 
tension Courses,  Box  93,  New  Brunswick,  New 
Jersey. 


Preface 

The  projects  included  in  this  bulletin  represent  a  selection  of 
materials  which  illustrate  what  may  be  done  in  the  junior  and 
senior  high  school.  The  projects  which  follow  constitute  a  selec- 
tion from  a  much  larger  number,  but  we  have  endeavored  to 
include  samples  for  each  of  grades  seven  to  nine,  inclusive. 
Space  will  permit  us  to  present  only  one  project  for  the  senior 
high  school.  In  our  selection  we  have  endeavored  to  include 
projects  which  enlist  a  variety  of  interests  and  which  cover  a 
number  of  subjects. 

These  projects  have  been  developed  in  the  Extension 
Courses  in  the  Project  Method  of  Instruction.  We  feel  that  they 
will  be  of  aid  to  New  Jersey  teachers  in  planning  similar  under- 
takings. 

We  desire  to  express  our  thanks  to  the  county  superintend- 
ents, city  superintendents,  principals,  and  presidents  of  teachers' 
organizations  who  have  co-operated  in  the  organization  of  our 
Extension  Courses,  and  who  by  their  untiring  efforts  have  con- 
tributed so  much  to  making  them  a  success. 

THE  EDITORS. 


46700'i 


The  Cacao  Industry 

Jennie  B.  Post,  Grade  fA,  West  Hoboken,  N.  /. 

SITUATION 

In  connection  with  our  geography  lesson,  the  pupils  had 
been  discussing  the  steady  increase  in  trade  between  the  United 
States  and  South  American  nations.  This  talk  led  to  the  state- 
ment that  since  the  completion  of  the  Panama  Canal  the  sailing 
distance  between  New  York  and  Guayaquil  had  been  reduced 
thousands  of  miles  and  that  better  and  swifter  boats  were  being 
put  into  service.  "Name  an  important  product  that  these  boats 
bring  us  from  Ecuador,"  was  then  asked.  Various  things  were 
mentioned,  but  Cacao  and  Chocolate  were  heard  the  oftenest. 
"What  is  the  difference  between  the  two  ?"  was  the  next  question. 
Quite  a  discussion  followed,  and  I  felt  that  this  was  a  favorable 
situation  for  starting  a  study  of  Cacao  industry.  I  felt  sure  the 
subject  would  appeal  to  the  pupils,  as  all  boys  and  girls  are  fond 
of  candy  and  especially  chocolate  candy. 

AIMS 

The  teacher's  aims  were:  To  promote  interest  in  industrial 
life;  to  study  the  Cacao  industry;  to  teach  good  English,  neat- 
ness, business  forms,  writing  of  letters,  telegrams  or  cablegrams, 
and  advertisements. 

ACTIVITIES 

The  work  was  launched  in  the  formation  of  a  Cacao  Com- 
pany, composed  of  all  the  pupils  in  the  class,  said  company  to 
have  a  plantation  in  Ecuador  and  a  factory  and  warehouses 
located  in  or  near  New  York  City. 

A  Cacao  Company  was  formed,  with  a  capital  of  $40,000, 
divided  into  400  shares  of  $100.  There  being  40  pupils  in  the 
class  at  the  time  it  was  decided  that  each  pupil  should  own  10 
shares  or  $1,000  worth  of  stock. 

Officers  for  the  Company  were  theri  nominated  and  elected 
by  the  pupils.  The  President  and  Treasurer  were  boys  who 
were  popular  with  the  pupils.  The  Vice-President  and  the 
Secretary  were  girls  and  equally  popular.  It  was  suggested  that 
a  suitable  name  be  given  the  Company,  and  the  pupils  were  told 
to  think  about  it  and  report  at  the  next  meeting.  When  the  ap- 
pointed time  came,  many  names  were  handed  in,  but  "The  Star 


Cacao  Co."  received  the  greatest  number  of  votes.  Trade  marks 
were  then  exhibited,  discussed,  and  one  chosen.  This  was  not 
a  difficult  task,  as  our  name  really  suggested  the  one  chosen. 

The  next  step  was  the  locating  of  our  factory  and  the  secur- 
ing of  our  plantation  in  Ecuador.  Maps  were  exhibited  and 
several  sites  named.  Pupils  debated  as  to  why  these  places  were 
or  were  not  suitable,  and  finally  decided  to  locate  the  Company's 
factory  on  High  Street  between  Summit  and  Kerrigan  Avenues. 
This  is  a  vacant  plot,  a  short  distance  from  our  school. 

Various  suggestions  were  offered  as  to  how  they  were  to> 
secure  their  foreign  plantation.  This  is  what  they  finally  de- 
cided to  do :  Write  to  a  foreign  agent  who  had  been  recom- 
mended by  our  Consul  General  at  Guayaquil,  Ecuador,  and  ask 
him  to  act  as  their  agent  and  select  a  suitable  cacao  plantation 
along  the  Guayas  River;  also,  secure  the  services  of  a  capable 
agent  for  the  plantation.  The  letter  was  written  and  also  his 
answer  to  the  Company.  Then,  the  Company's  communication 
to  Mr.  Crespo,  the  new  manager,  was  written,  asking  him  to  cable 
them  as  to  shipment  of  Cacao  beans.  This  brought  in  the  desired 
drill  in  letter  writing  and  writing  of  telegrams. 

Next  there  was  a  discussion  of  employees  needed.  "Ads" 
from  papers  were  exhibited  and  pupils  assigned  to  write  "ads" 
for  help  wanted.  Then  came  a  lesson  on  answering  "ads." 
The  new  assignment  was,  "The  answer  to  an  advertisement." 
Pupils  were  told  to  make  their  answers  brief,  to  write  well  and 
to  spell  all  words  correctly.  The  pupils  then  had  a  socialized 
lesson  on  "Our  foreign  plantation."  This  was  followed  by  a 
discussion  on  "Cacao  Industry" — Necessity,,  growth,  etc. 

The  Company  then  decided  to  advertise  more  widely,  mak- 
ing an  advertising  pamphlet.  The  following  outline  for  the 
pamphlet  was  prepared  and  committees  appointed.  Each  com- 
mittee \vas  assigned  a  topic. 

Story  of  Discovery.    , 

Where  grown. 

Climate — soil. 

How  obtained. 

Preparation  for  use. 

Manufacture  of  Cacao. 

Uses  of  Cacao. 

Booklets  were  written  and  illustrated,  the  design  on  the 
cover  being  the  trade  mark  of  the  Company. 

COMMENT 

This  project  has  been  of  great  help  in  the  English  work. 
They  have  learned  to  write  well  and  to  be  careful  in  the  choice 
of  language. 

5 


REFERENCES 

Educational  Exhibits  and  Reading  Material  have  been  re- 
ceived from  the  following  companies : 

Walter  Baker. 

Hershey. 

Runkel. 

Walter  Lowney  Co. 

Peter  Callier  Kohler  Co. 

Lantern  slides  were  borrowed  from  Department  of  Con- 
servation and  Development,  Trenton,  N.  J. 

The  Star  Cacao  Company's  Store 

Jennie  B.  Post,  Anna  Nolan,  Secretary,  School  No.  4,  West 
Hoboken,  N.  J. 

SITUATION 

This  project  was  suggested  by  and  is  the  outgrowth  of  the 
previous  one.  The  Star  Cacao  Company  had  been  in  existence 
about  a  month  when  the  idea  of  opening  a  school  store  and  hav- 
ing the  members  of  the  Company  take  charge  of  it  was  sug- 
gested to  me.  I  considered  it  carefully  and  then  decided  that 
here  was  an  opportunity  for  teaching  profit  and  loss,  discount 
and  commission  in  a  practical  way  by  the  project  method  and  in 
accordance  with  out  new  course  in  arithmetic  adopted  last 
autumn. 

PURPOSING 

To  teach  gain  and  loss,  per  cent,  discount,  commission  by 
practical  problems.  Pupils  would  learn  from  actual  experience 
how  to  keep  "Cash  Accounts,"  account  of  bank  deposits  and 
withdrawals.  It  would  enable  pupils  to  see  that  whatever  was 
gained  or  lost  by  a  transaction  would  affect  each  one  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm.  Proceeds  or  gain  from  sales  would  enrich  our 
school  treasury  and  enable  the  school  to  purchase  new  lantern 
slides. 

PLAN 

The  subject  was  discussed  with  the  pupils  and  great  enthusi- 
asm was  shown.  It  was  suggested  that  we  buy  "Dairy  Maid 
Chocolate  Products"  from  Brewster  Sons  and  Company  and  sell 
them  to  the  pupils  after  school,  twice  a  week. 

The  one  great  obstacle  in  our  way  was  the  securing  of  the 
money  to  accompany  our  first  order.  Various  suggestions  were 
given  by  pupils.  One  suggested  that  we  send  our  order,  sell  the 
goods  within  30  days  and  then  pay  for  them.  He  was  shown 


that  we  would  lose  our  cash  discount.  Several  suggested  having 
each  pupil  advance  one  dollar  to  make  the  required  amount. 
This  was  not  thought  to  be  advisable. 

The  principal  of  our  school  then  came  to  our  assistance  and 
advanced  $71.84,  which  was  the  amount  in  the  school  treasury 
at  that  time.  This  money  was  the  proceeds  from  a  cake  and 
candy  sale  held  in  our  school,  last  term,  for  the  purpose  of  buying 
lantern  slides. 

ACTIVITIES 

On  April  8th  the  amount  of  $71.84  was  deposited  in  the 
Highland  Trust  Company's  Bank  and  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
same  clay  an  order  for  chocolate  candy  of  various  kinds  and 
cocoa  amounting  to  $31.61  was  filled  out  and  with  a  check  for 
the  amount  was  mailed  to  Brewster  Sons  Company  at  Newark. 

It  was  decided  that  our  store  should  be  open  on  Monday 
and  Thursday  afternoons  at  3.00  P.  M.,  and  room  5  was  the  place 
selected  for  the  sale.  Pupils  were  to  enter  from  the  hall  and 
leave  by  the  fire-escape  doors,  thus  avoiding  noise  and  disorder 
in  the  corridors.  The  pupils  then  set  to  work  to  prepare  "post- 
ers" which  would  announce  the  opening  of  the  new  store.  One 
for  each  room  was  completed  and  each  was  hung  in  a  conspicu- 
ous place.  The  pupils  were  divided  into  five  committees,  two 
consisting  of  girls  and  three  of  boys.  The  girls  were  to  sell  the 
products  and  the  boys  to  act  as  monitors  and  assist  in  every  way 
possible. 

On  the  days  of  sale  three  girls  and  three  boys  were  per- 
mitted to  go  down  a  few  minutes  before  the  bell  rang  and,  under 
the  supervision  of  Miss  Nolan,  Secretary  of  our  school,  arrange 
the  boxes  on  the  tables  and  place  the  prices  on  the  candies.  The 
treasurer  was  to  take  charge  of  the  money  after  it  had  been 
counted  and  the  following  day  deposit  the  same  in  the  bank. 

Our  supplies  arrived  April  ,.i  2th  and  our  store  opened  the 
following  Thursday.  Our  proceeds  from  the  first  sale  amounted 
to  $24.61. 

Our  arithmetic  lesson  the  next  morning  consisted  of  prob- 
lems taken  from  our  sales  of  the  day  before.  For  example  :— 

We  paid  $0.90  for  a  box  of  chocolates  containing  24  bars, 
and  yesterday  we  sold  them  at  $0.06.  What  was  our  gain  in 
percentage?  Or,  we  reduce  our  $0.15  candies  to  $0.12.  What  is 
the  percentage  of  reduction? 

Each  pupil  opened  a  cash  account  wherein  all  cash  receipts 
and  cash  payments  were  recorded. 

Three  orders  have  been  sent  to  the  manufacturers,  and  each 
time  pupils  have  found  the  amount  of  the  bill,  the  war  tax  and 
the  cash  discount  allowed. 


COMMENT 

Needless  to  say,  the  project  undertaken  has  had  the  desired 
result  in  the  class-room.  The  pupils  have  looked  upon  their  tasks, 
not  as  work,  but  as  something  which  they  were  eager  to  do  and 
to  get  results  in.  They  have  entered  into  them  with  -a  zeal  and 
earnestness  which  might  have  been  lacking  if  they  had  not  all 
had  the  same  aim  or  purpose. 

Clay  Industries  of  New  Jersey 

Helen  Plummer,  Seventh  Grade,  Lincoln  School,  Trenton,  N.  J. 

INTRODUCTION 

The  mental  ability  of  my  class  is  very  much  below  normal. 
The  difference  between  the  physical  and  mental  age  is  as  much 
as  four  years  in  a  few  cases,  and  in  nearly  every  case  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  arouse  interest  and  to  hold  it. 

We  read  over  the  list  of  industries  of  New  Jersey  in  class. 
The  children  then  tried  to  find  all  the  advertisements  of  these 
industries  that  they  possibly  could,  and  brought  them  to  school. 

A  few  boys  who  do  neat  hand  work  printed  the  names  of 
the  manufacturing  centers  on  strips  of  cardboard,  and  others 
posted  the  advertisements  at  the  back  of  the  room. 

Every  member  of  the  class  brought  in  advertisements,  and 
also  tried  to  find  some  information  about  the  industry  advertised. 
They  were  very  much  interested,  and  were  eager  to  give  some- 
thing toward  our  work. 

We  found  that  there  were  many  industries,  and  that  it  would 
be  interesting  to  find  the  reason  for  their  location,  where  the  raw 
materials  come  from,  where  the  finished  products  find  a  market, 
and  many  similar  questions. 

We  took  up  all  of  these  industries  very  briefly.  By  this  time 
the  children  were  really  enjoying  themselves,  and  decided  that 
they  would  like  to  take  up  one  industry  thoroughly.  "The  Clay 
Industries  of  New  Jersey"  was  the  subject  chosen  as  their 
project. 

ACTIVITIES 

First,  we  made  up  a  list  of  articles  made  of  clay.  This  list 
was  lengthened  after  we  studied,  for  the  children  found  that  they 
knew  very  little  about  clay  products. 

We  developed  the  following  brief  outline  on  clay : 

a.  What  it  is. 

b.  Where  it  comes  from. 

c.  How  it  is  obtained. 

8 


d.  How  it  is  made  into  its  various  finished  products. 

e.  Chief  centers  of  industry  in  New  Jersey. 

f.  Markets  for  finished  products. 

Then  the  class  had  a  definite  aim  in  view.  They  wanted  to 
find  out  definite  things  about  clay.  They  looked  in  their  text 
books,  reference  books  and  encyclopedias,  and  began  to  realize 
that  they  could  not  find  just  what  they  wanted. 

We  talked  over  our  needs  together,  and  I  suggested  that 
perhaps  they  might 'write  letters  to  the  firms  whose?  advertise- 
ments we  had  posted.  There  were  not  nearly  enough  different 
firms  to  go  around  the  class,  but  this  difficulty  was  solved  by 
using  the  Industrial  Directory  of  the  State,  which  the  Librarian 
of  the  Trenton  Free  Public  Library  had  sent  one  of  the  girls  who 
had  written  to  her,  at  my  suggestion,  for  material. 

We  had  studied  letter-writing,  and  now  the  children  seemed 
anxious  to  put  their  knowledge  into  real  use.  They  passed  the 
Directory  around  the  room  and  each  chose  a  firm. 

They  tried  to  apply  the  points  I  had  attempted  to  impress 
upon  them  in  writing  a  courteous  business  letter,  with  results 
which  would  have  pleased  the  most  exacting.  No  two  letters 
were  alike.  With  very  few  exceptions,  the  children  received 
answers  to  their  letters. 

The  class  was  given  not  only  a  wealth  of  information  about 
their  project,  but  was  also  impressed  with  the  business  courtesy 
and  the  great  interest  these  men  must  have  in  the  schools  to  induce 
them  to  use  their  valuable  time  in  dictating  such  long  letters  of 
information  to  young  boys  and  girls,  from  whom  no  financial 
returns  could  be  expected. 

Polite  letters  of  thanks  were  sent  to  these  men,  as  well  as  to 
the  State 'Librarian,  who  sent  two  very  good  references. 

When  we  had  material  with  which  to  work,  the  children 
decided  to  organize  themselves  into  three  companies.  One  com- 
pany dealt  in  raw  materials,  one  in  porcelains  and  one  in  bricks. 
The  clay  company  told  of  the  different  kinds  of  clay,  their  uses, 
and  the  countries  from  which  they  were  obtained,  as  well  as  the 
commercial  routes  used  in  their  transportation.  The  porcelain 
and  brick  companies  followed  their  product  from  the  raw  ma- 
terials to  the  finished  products  and  sent  it  out  on  the  market. 

The  class  as  a  whole  studied  the  different  trade  routes  be- 
tween China,  France,  Germany,  England  and  the  United  States. 
Under  this  heading  came  a  discussion  of  the  relative  cost  of  rail 
and  water  transportation,  and  the  various  elements  which  figure 
in  the  cost  of  a  manufactured  article. 

Many  sub-topics,  which  might  have  been  taken  up  with  a 
bright  and  normal  class,  were  only  briefly  touched  upon.  For 


instance,  the  nationality  of  the  men  who  originated  the  industry 
in  this  country?  The  need  of  a  protective  tariff  and  the  effect 
of  it  upon  this  industry,  etc. 

The  pupils  summed  up  the  information  which  they  had 
gained  in  a  composition  called,  "The  Story  of  My  Life,"  and 
sub-divided  it  into  these  topics: 

1.  Where  I  first  lived. 

2.  My  Journey  to  Trenton,  N.  J. 

3.  My  experiences  in  the  Factory. 

4.  My  present  home. 

They  made  these  papers  attractive  by  making  a  suitable 
cover  and  illustrating  their  stories  appropriately. 

COURSE  OF  STUDY 

Terms  peculiar  to  the  industry  were  looked  up  in  the  dic- 
tionary and  used  as  a  spelling  lesson. 

The  different  machines  were  drawn  upon  the  blackboard 
and  their  use  explained. 

The  girls,  in  drawing,  made  small  clay  trays  which  they 
decorated. 

Each  member  of  the  class  made  any  clay  product  he  or  she 
wished,  from  plasteline. 

RESULTS 

The  pupils,  in  the  first  place,  were  interested.  They  wanted 
to  write  letters.  They  wanted  to  find  all  the  information  they 
could  about  clay.  They  talked  about  China  and  were  eager  to 
find  why  the  Chinese  had  not  kept  their  place  in  the  pottery 
industry.  They  chose  the  Panama  Canal  Route  in  preference 
to  the  Mediterrean  Sea  in  coming  from  China  to  New  York 
Bay,  and  were  really  desirous  to  find  a  shorter  way  to  reach 
Trenton  than  by  going  all  around  the  coast  and  up  the  Delaware. 
Thus  many  topics  which  the  State  Monograph  required  to  be 
covered  by  a  seventh  grade  class  were  covered. 

My  English  papers  were  the  best  that  I  had  ever  received, 
which,  I  think,  shows  that  the  children  profited  by  their  work. 

Rewriting    "The  Christmas  Carol"  for  the 
Fourth  Grade 

Hthel  W.  Gibb,  Seventh  Grade,  Bernardsville,  N.  /. 

INTRODUCTION 

The  project    undertaken  was   the   rewriting  of    Dickens' 
"Christmas  Carol,"  by  the  Seventh  Grade  pupils,  in  a  form  that 

io 


could  be  given  to  Fourth  Grade  pupils  to  read.  The  work  took 
about  fourteen  classroom  recitations  of  thirty  minutes  each. 
Most  of  the  actual  writing  was  done  by  the  pupils  at  home.  In 
school,  the  work  was  read,  the  criticisms  and  suggestions  given 
in  socialized  recitations,  and  the  work  revised  at  home. 

AIMS 

My  aims  in  having  the  pupils  do  this  work  were  varied.'  The 
main  purpose  was  to  test  their  knowledge  and  appreciation  of 
the  story  without  a  formal  examination,  and  to  insure  a  more 
lasting  knowledge  of  the  story  through  a  second,  more  careful 
reading  of  it.  Secondary  aims  were  to  test  the  pupils'  ability  to 
pick  out  and  tell  about  the  important  events  of  the  story,  to 
discover  whether  they  knew  the  meaning  of  the  many  difficult 
words  used,  to  aid  in  applying  their  knowledge  of  formal  gram- 
mar, to  emphasize  good  English  and  a  good  choice  of  words,  and 
to  aid  their  oral  reading  expression. 

The  pupils'  aim  was  to  instill  the  spirit  of  Christmas  love, 
giving  and  kindness  in  the  younger  pupils  through  a  story  which 
they  could  understand  and  enjoy.  As  one  pupil  said,  "Christmas 
isn't  only  for  getting  presents;  it's  for  giving  them  and  making 
other  people  happy.  It  would  be  good  to  teach  the  fourth  grade 
pupils  that  without  'preaching'  to  them,  and  we  could  do  it 
with  the  story,  just  like  Dickens  did  for  us." 

TEACHERS'  PREPARATION 

In  preparing  for  this  project,  I  had  to  begin  my  work  when 
the  story  was  first  taken  up  in  class.  The  Seventh  Grade  con- 
sisted of  forty-five  pupils,  both  boys  and  girls,  most  of  whom 
were  interested  in  reading.  A  few  boys,  however,  were  repeating 
the  grade  and  I  wanted  to  interest  them,  if  possible.  The  read- 
ing of  the  "Christmas  Carol"  was  begun  soon  after  Hallowe'en, 
while  the  memory  of  ghost  stories  was  still  fresh  in  the  minds 
of  the  pupils.  This  was  also  necessary  to  allow  time  for  the 
reading  of  the  story,  the  rewriting  of  it,  the  mimeographing  of 
it  by  a  High  School  class,  the  making  of  covers,  and  fastening 
it  in  book  form  for  the  fourth  grade  to  read  at  Christmas. 

PURPOSING 

•  In  introducing  the  story,  I  tried  to  bring  out  the  delightfully 
delicate  humor,  characterization  and  pathos  of  the  story  rather 
than  stressing  new  words  and  story  structure.  As  a  result,  when 
the  story  was  read  and  discussed  the  class  voted  that  it  was  "a 
good  story."  One  boy  volunteered  that  it  wasn't  only  funny, 
but  it  taught  something.  Then  followed  a  discussion  of  the 

ii 


Christmas  spirit,  the  change  in  Scrooge,  the  moral,  and  why  the 
story  has  lasted  so  many  years.  One  girl  exclaimed,  "I  should 
think  everyone  ought  to  read  this  story  before  Christmas." 

There  was  the  opportunity  I  had  been  waiting  for,  and  I 
asked,  "What  about  young  children  reading  it?  Would  it  do 
them  any  good?" 

"Not  as  it  is,"  answered  one  girl.  "They  wouldn't  know  all 
the  hard  words,  because  we  didn't  even  know  them  ourselves." 

"Then  I'm  afraid  that  they'll  have  to  miss  it,  won't  they?" 
I  said. 

"Couldn't  we  tell  it  to  them?"  suggested  Dominic. 

This  suggestion  was  vetoed  by  Cynthia,  the  practical  girl, 
who  said,  "It's  too  long,  and  we  might  get  mixed  up  and  use 
bad  English.  Besides  little  children  wouldn't  pay  attention  for 
so  long  a  time  perhaps." 

Then  Alfred  spoke  up,  "Why  couldn't  we  write  it  for  them 
and  make  it  easy?" 

For  a  moment  there  was  silence  in  the  room,  then  I  said, 
in  a  doubtful  tone,  "That  would  be  splendid,  Alfred,  but  could 
this  grade  do  it?  It  is  very  long,  you  know,  and  would  mean 
a  lot  of  hard  work  for  everyone." 

The  class,  to  a  pupil,  resented  the  seeming  slur  on  their  ability. 
Such  a  babel  as  resulted.  Remarks  such  as,  "Sure,  we  can  do 
it."  "Don't  you  think  we  could  do  it,  Miss  Gibb?"  "It  would 
be  easy,"  and  other  similar  expressions  were  heard. 

Finally,  I  asked,  "But  why  are  you  so  anxious  to  rewrite 
the  Christmas  Carol?" 

Carl  responded  quickly,  "Why,  they  need  it;  we  all  need  it. 
It's  worth  while  doing  and  will  be  fun." 

"I  think  you  are  right  about  it  being  a  good  thing,"  I  an- 
swered. "But  how  are  you  going  to  start?" 

PLANNING 

After  hearing  several  plans  discussed,  the  class  decided  to 
adopt  the  one  offered  by  Allen,  which  was  that  the  class  should 
be  divided  into  six  committees.  Five  of  the  committees  were 
to  rewrite  the  story,  each  committee  taking  one  stave.  The 
sixth  committee  was  to  give  aid  to  individuals  who  needed  it 
and  do  any  extra  work  which  was  necessary.  Each  committee 
was  to  have  a  chairman  and  divide  up  the  work  of  the  stave. 

"How  are  you  going  to  choose  the  committees  ?"  I  asked. 

"Let  each  one  tell  which  stave  he'd  rather  write  about," 
replied  Allen. 

"Suppose  you  have  too  many  for  one  stave  and  not  enough 
for  another;  what  will  you  do?"  I  questioned. 

12 


"Why,  we'll  have  to  choose  another,  then.  Anyhow,  they're 
all  good,"  replied  Allen,  cheerfully. 

The  class  agreed  that  that  plan  sounded  fair,  so  Allen  went 
to  the  board  and  wrote  Stave  I,  Stave  II,  etc.  He  then  turned 
to  the  class  and  said,  "Those  who  want  to  rewrite  Stave  I  please 
stand."  As  they  did  so,  he  wrote  their  names  under  the  heading 
Stave  I,  and  proceeded  thus  until  he  had  the  five  committees 
for  rewriting  the  "Christmas  Carol."  Then  the  ones  who  desired 
to  be  in  the  "Helping  Committee"  stood,  and  their  names  were 
taken.  Several  pupils  had  to  make  a  second  choice  of  the  stave 
that  they  would  rewrite,  so  that  the  committees  would  be  more 
evenly  balanced,  but  in  every  case  the  change  was  voluntary  and 
was  made  cheerfully. 

When  this  was  done,  Charlotte  asked,  "May  the  committees 
sit  together  and  choose  a  chairman,  so  we  can  begin  work?" 

Permission  was  given  and  five  minutes  were  allowed  for 
the  reseating  of  the  groups,  and  the  choosing  of  a  chairman  for 
each. 

This  was  entirely  the  work  of  the  pupils.  During  the  choos- 
ing of  the  committees  and  the  chairman  I  remained  at  the  back 
of  the  room,  only  offering  advice  or  giving  assistance  when  re- 
quested to  by  the  pupils.  The  room  was  not  quiet,  but  it  was  the 
noise  of  interest  and  work,  and  not  disorder. 

At  the  end  of  five  minutes  I  called  the  class  to  attention  and 
asked,  "How  are  you  going  to  find  out  what  to  write?" 

One  pupil  said,  "Won't  the  chairman  tell  us  that?  I  think 
that  is  the  way." 

It  was  finally  decided,  though,  that  each  chairman  should 
make  a  list  of  the  important  topics  in  his  stave  and,  after  having 
it  revised  by  his  committee,  let  each  one  choose  the  part  that  he 
would  write.  On  the  following  day  when  this  was  done  second 
choices  were  again  made  cheerfully. 

"Isn't  there  anything  for 'the  rest  of  the  class  to  do  to- 
night?" I  then  asked. 

"Sure,"  responded  Alfred  slangily,  "we'll  have  to  read  our 
stave  over,  so  we  know  it  better  and  look  up  hard  words.  We've 
got  lots  to  do." 

"How  will  you  know  what  words  the  fourth  grade  pupils 
can  read  and  understand?"  I  asked. 

The  Helping  Committee  at  once  volunteered  to  find  out  by 
asking  various  fourth  grade  pupils  and  by  examining  several 
fourth  grade  readers  that  had  been  read  by  the  fourth  grade  this 
year.  Their  report  was  to  be  ready  for  the  following  day. 

All  of  the  foregoing  took  only  thirty  minutes,  which  was  a 
revelation  to  me  when  I  thought  it  over. 

13 


ACTIVITIES 

When  the  pupils  came  to  class  the  next  day  the  various  com- 
mittees sat  together.  The  "Helping  Committee"  reported  on  the 
words  used  by  the  fourth  grade,  putting  a  list  on  the  board  to 
show  the  degree  of  difficulty  of  the  words.  From  now  on  the 
pupils  did  the  work  almost  entirely  by  themselves.  This  second 
period  was  spent  in  choosing  their  part  to  rewrite,  looking  it  over 
and  outlining  briefly  what  they  wanted  to  tell  about  it.  The 
"helpers"  were  busy  now  and  when  they  could  not  answer  a  ques- 
tion they  came  to  me,  However,  they  looked  up  most  of  the 
questions  on  construction  and  punctuation  for  themselves. 

The  pupils  were  allowed  to  talk  together,  but  the  need  of 
doing  it  quietly  for  the  sake  of  the  other  pupils  was  emphasized. 

The  following  lessons  consisted  of  socialized  recitations.  A 
pupil  who  had  his  part  rewritten  would  read  it  orally  and  call  for 
suggestions  by  the  class.  One  topic  of  discussion  was  whether 
or  not  the  actual  words  of  the  book  might  be  used.  The  class 
decided  that  if  a  portion  was  easy  enough  for  the  fourth  grade  to 
understand  it  would  be  well  to  copy  exactly  some  of  the  best  con- 
versation and  descriptions. 

This  is  the  introduction  which  finally  passed  censorship: 

"My  .dear  children,  we  have  the  pleasure  of  re-writing  the 
Christmas  Carol  for  you.  You  all  like  Mr.  Santa;  but  here  is 
the  story  of  a  man  who  did  not. 

"What  is  a  Christmas  Carol?  It  is  a  song  of  rejoicing  at 
the  birth  of  Christ.  It  was  the  custom  of  Charles  Dickens  to 
write  a  Christmas  story  every  year  for  his  youthful  readers  to 
read  and  enjoy." 

The  following  are  samples  of  the  work  handed  in  by  the 
pupils : 

"Scrooge,  you  know,  was  very  hot-tempered  and  not  very 
pleasant  to  look  at.  He  was  not  like  some  of  your  fathers,  but 
hated  other  people  and  would  not  have  anything  to  do  with 
them." 

"I  am  sure  that  you  have  all  read  stories  of  misers  who  keep 
their  money  and  will  never  spend  a  cent.  That  is  the  kind  of 
man  Scrooge  was.  He  loved  money  and  he  would  save  every 
cent  that  he  could  get.  He  often  went  hungry  because  he  wanted 
to  save  the  money." 

"On  and  on  they  went,  over  the  ocean,  and  flew  and  flew 
until  they  saw  a  lighthouse.  A  lighthouse,  you  know,  is  where 
the  men  live  who  show  the  ships  where  rocks  are  and  warn  them 
of  danger  by  having  an  enormous  light  which  burns  all  night  up 
in  the  top  of  the  lighthouse  and  shines  out  over  the  water." 

Since  Grade  Seven  had  departmental  work  and  I  did  not 
teach  English  it  was  rather  hard  to  correlate  the  daily  reading 

14 


and  English  work,  though,  in  a  degree,  this  was  done.  We  were 
also  greatly  indebted  to  the  typewriting  department  for  mimeo- 
graphing the  work. 

Most  of  the  material  was  taken  directly  from  the  edition  of 
the  "Christmas  Carol''  which  the  pupils  were  using.  I  had  for- 
merly purchased  blue-print  pictures  from  the  Thompson  Pub- 
lishing Co.,  in  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  to  illustrate  the  story,  and  the 
pupils  thought  that  the  fourth  grade  children  would  be  more 
interested  in  the  story  if  they  could  see  the  pictures.  Therefore 
they  made  up  their  separate  orders,  combined  them,  wrote  a 
letter  enclosing  a  money-order  and  received  their  pictures.  Some 
pupils  ordered  the  whole  set,  costing  forty  cents ;  others  ordered 
only  enough  to  illustrate  the  stave  which  they  were  re-writing. 

When  the  story  was  re-written  to  their  satisfaction  it  was 
sent  to  the  High  School  to  be  mimeographed.  I  then  gave  the 
paper  for  covers  to  the  pupils  and  they  made  their  own  designs 
at  home.  Some  used  free-hand  designs;  others  used  pictures 
relating  to  Christmas.  When  the  work  was  finished  the  books 
were  tied  together  with  red  and  green  cord.  Each  pupil  had  a 
book  of  his  own  and  they  were  loaned  to  the  fourth  grade  to  read. 
The  seventh  grade  pupils  were  anxious  to  get  them  back,  how- 
ever, and  they  are  regarded  as  valued  possessions. 

RESULTS 

In  considering  the  value  of  the  work  I  would  mention  some 
of  the  things  which  the  project  accomplished.  It  aided  the  chil- 
dren in  giving  good  criticism,  both  constructive  and  destructive, 
and  to  accept  it  in  the  right  manner.  Some  parts  were  changed 
three  times  before  being  satisfactory.  The  pupils  learned  to 
co-operate  with  each  other,  too.  They  discovered  that  one  must 
make  the  beginning  of  his  part  of  the  stave  follow  in  thought 
the  ending  of  the  preceding  part. 

For  example,  one  pupil  wrote — 

"By  that  time  it  was  too  dark  to  work  any  longer,  so 
Scrooge  prepared  to  go  home." 

Then  another  pupil  continued — 

"As  he  passed  his  clerk,  he  growled,  'I  suppose  you'll  want 
a  holiday  to-morrow'." 

The  pupils  learned  to  select  and  judge  the  parts  best  suited  to 
their  needs.  For  example,  they  dwelt  briefly  on  the  death  scenes 
and  omitted  many  of  the  long  descriptions ;  but  told  in  detail,  the 
story  of  the  Cratchits'  Christmas  dinner  and  Tiny  Tim. 

Through  the  class  criticism,  the  standards  of  good  work 
were  raised,  for  I  found  that  the  pupils  demanded  more  of  each 
other  than  I  had  often  demanded  of  them.  And  therein  lay 
much  of  the  value  of  the  project.  The  pupils  did  more  when 

15 


working  together  for  a  common  goal  than  when  simply  preparing 
a  given  assignment. 

The  habit  of  neatness  was  also  fostered,  for  no  untidy  or 
scribbled  paper  could  be  sent  over  to  a  High  School  class  to 
reflect  on  the  seventh  grade.  Through  this  a  class  and  school 
pride  was  emphasized. 

Self-confidence  was  established,  too.  Two  boys,  in  par- 
ticular, were  certain  that  they  could  not  do  the  work.  They  are 
naturally  slow  in  thinking  and  do  not  take  a  very  active  part  in 
the  class  discussions.  Through  the  friendly  help  and  sugges- 
tions of  the  rest  of  the  class  they  were  encouraged  to  try  and  did 
really  credible  work.  They  were  very  proud  when  the  class 
praised  their  finished  work  and  have  taken  more  part  in  the  class 
work  since.  One  even  volunteered  to  teach  the  Spelling  class  a 
few  days  ago. 

Besides  these  chances  for  pupil  development,  there  were  op- 
portunities to  emphasize  subjects  in  the  course  of  study.  More 
chances  could  have  been  found  if  I  had  been  teaching  all  the  sub- 
jects in  grade  seven.  As  it  was  I  was  able  to  emphasize  oral  and 
silent  reading,  correct  spelling,  neat  and  rapid  writing,  the  use  of 
common  synonyms,  of  punctuation  and  quotation  marks,  correct 
English,  the  use  of  a  ruler,  printing,  and  design  and  drill  in  using 
a  dictionary. 

The  outstanding  feature,  however,  was  the  amount  and 
quality  of  independent  work  done. 

The  Parker  Family 

K.  C.  Kelty,  Seventh  Grade,  Carroll  Robbins  School, 
Trenton,  N.  /. 

SITUATION 

The  work  for  the  year  was  one  big  project.  We  called  it 
"The  Parker  Family."  Many  small  projects  were  treated  under 
this  big  topic,  each  one  so  interesting  and  instructive  that  the 
work,  from  the  beginning  of  the  year  to  the  end,  was  a  pleasure. 
Not  once  during  the  year  did  I  hear  that  old  expression,  "We 
had  that  in  the  sixth  grade."  The  facts  learned  in  the  previous 
grades  by  the  children  were  used  as  tools,  just  as  they  would  use 
a  hammer,  saw  or  plane  in  the  manual  training  shop,  and  there- 
fore the  work  didn't  seem  to  be  a  repetition. 

Our  work  began  with  a  study  of  thrift.  The  collector  from 
the  bank  comes  every  two  weeks,  and  I  wanted  to  show  the 
children  that  it  is  possible  to  save  a  part  of  their  income  or  allow- 
ance. 

16 


Many  of  the  boys  work,  so  we  discussed  some  of  the  things 
they  could  do  without,  in  order  to  save  money.  This  led  us  to 
talk  about  the  income  of  boys  who  are  working  and  do  not  attend 
school — what  they  do  with  their  salary — and  then  to  a  discussion 
of  spending  the  money  brought  in  by  the  father  and  any  others 
who  contribute  to  the  family  income. 

BUDGET-MAKING 

Plans  for  spending  money  were  suggested  and  criticised  by 
the  class,  but,  as  nothing  seemed  to  be  entirely  satisfactory  to 
them,  I  suggested  that  they  look  through  their  arithmetic  books, 
the  supplementary  books  on  my  desk,  the  magazines  in  the  office 
or  those  on  my  desk  and  any  they  had  at  home  for  sample 
budgets. 

I  had  previously  put  on  my  desk  the  "Government  Thrift 
Pamphlets,"  the  Ferrin  Money  Accounting  Book,  Hoyt  and  Peet 
Arithmetic  Book  and  Junior  Mathematics  Book,  together  with 
five  or  six  others,  for  reference. 

On  the  following  day  the  different  plans  were  explained  to 
the  class  by  the  children  who  had  found  them.  I  introduced  the 
Parker  Family  to  the  children  at  this  point  by  telling  them  that 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Parker  had  decided  on  a  plan  for  spending 
their  income  of  $1,800  per  year,  and  I  would  now  present  this 
plan  to  them. 

Mimeographed  copies  of  the  income  table  were  distributed 
and  comparisons  were  made  between  the  tables  already  discussed 
and  this  plan. 

It  was  decided  that  their  budget  contained  all  that  the  others 
did,  and  was  much  easier  to  work  with,  since  it  divided  the 
income  into  five  parts — food,  rent,  clothing,  operating  expenses, 
and  culture  and  recreation. 

Problems  using  the  three  cases  in  percentage  were  formed 
by  the  class  after  reading  those  suggested  on  the  mimeographed 
sheets. 

In  our  discussion  of  the  amount  of  money  to  be  allowed  for 
food,  rent  and  clothing,  we  found  that  the  treatment  of  this 
subject  had  to  be  different  in  the  different  classes.  Six  classes 
were  working  on  this  project,  and  two  of  them  were  made  up 
mostly  of  Italians  from  a  poor  section  of  the  city. 

The  keeping  of  a  household  account  for  a  month  was  sug- 
gested, so  we  worked  on  it.  The  children  found  the  price  of  the 
different  articles  purchased,  from  their  parents,  or  advertisements 
in  the  newspapers. 

THANKSGIVING  DINNER 

As  it  was  near  Thanksgiving,  each  member  of  the  different 
classes  planned  a  dinner  for  the  Parker  family — Mr.  and  Mrs., 

17 


Mary,  George  and  Fred — and  only  five  dollars  could  be  spent 
for  it. 

The  menu  was  first  placed  on  the  board,  and  then  the  articles 
purchased,  with  the  amount  and  cost,  were  arranged  in  a  bill 
form. 

We  spent  several  lessons  criticising  the  work,  and  this  was 
done  by  the  class,  but  when  they  had  been  rewritten  and  cor- 
rected we  had  all  learned  many  things. 

One  boy  was  laughed  at  by  some  of  the  other  boys  because 
he  wrote  down  a  roast  of  pork,  but  after  he  gave  them  his  reasons 
and  showed  them  that  some  provision  had  been  made  for  the  next 
meal  they  realized  that  he  was  right,  and  when  the  menus  were 
rewritten  several  had  roast  pork. 

This  boy's  father  had  a  very  good  position,  but  they  saved 
nothing.  About  four  years  ago  he  died,  and  the  boy  has  had  to 
work  before  and  after  school.  The  boys  have  a  lot  of  respect 
for  him  and  his  opinion.  He  showed  them  the  value  of  looking 
ahead.  The  need  for  careful  planning  of  meals  was  brought  out, 
and  also  the  advantage  of  using  home-cooked  food.  The  kinds 
of  foods  to  serve  together  and  their  food  value  was  discussed 
briefly. 

BUILDING  A  HOUSE 

Mr.  Parker,  having  received  a  notice  to  move,  decided  to 
build  a  house,  as  it  was  impossible  to  rent.  Here  we  had  a  dis- 
cussion of  property,  what  we  mean  by  it,  and  the  advantages  of 
owning  your  own  home. 

He  looked  around  for  a  good  location.  What  would  he 
consider?  Here  we  discussed  elevation,  neighbors,  transporta- 
tion, schools,  churches,  stores,  movies,  factories,  railroads,  odors, 
smoke,  saloons,  etc. 

On  which  side  of  the  street  would  he  buy  a  lot  ?    Why  ? 

Mr.  Parker  purchased  a  lot  facing  south. 

A  plan  of  the  street  was  drawn  according  to  scale,  also  a 
plan  of  Mr.  Parker's  lot,  showing  how  his  house  was  located 
upon  it.  The  lot  was  50  feet  by  150  feet,  and  the  building  restric- 
tions required  that  the  house  be  built  20  feet  from  the  street. 
Why?  Mr.  Parker  wanted  a  driveway  on  one  side  and  10  feet 
on  the  other  side.  The  house  was  30  feet  by  32  feet. 

The  plan  of  Mr.  Parker's  house  was  given  to  the  children 
and  they  examined  it  to  see  if  it  was  according  to  the  specifica- 
tions. 

The  cost  of  excavating  the  cellar  was  found  next.  The  rate 
charged  was  $0.90  per  load. 

The  children  did  some  measuring  in  their  cellars.  Orig- 
inal problems  were  written  by  the  children,  and  we  used  the 

18 


Wentworth  Smith  Book  III  for  a  general  review  of  work  in 
volume. 

We  examined  the  plans  for  the  cellar,  and  noticed  the  height, 
width,  length,  the  location  of  the  furnace,  coal  bin,  windows,  etc. 

The  size  of  the  bin  was  then  considered.  How  much  coal 
would  the  Parkers  need  ?  What  kinds  are  commonly  used  ?  How 
is  it  sold?  What  is  the  price  per  ton?  How  large  a  bin  would 
Mr.  Parker  need  for  8  tons  of  coal,  allowing.  35  cubic  feet  to  the 
ton?  We  used  different  dimensions  and  also  different  amounts 
of  coal.  In  some  problems  only  two  dimensions  were  suggested ; 
the  third  was  called  "X,"  and  problems  solved  to  determine  it. 

In  connection  with  this  work  the  children  measured  their 
coal  bins  at  home  and  found  the  number  of  tons  they  would  hold. 

We  found  the  number  of  bushels  of  potatoes  Mr.  Parker 
planned  to  put  into  his  potato  bin  (5  cubic  feet  allowed  for  4 
bushels). 

Not  many  of  the  children  had  bins  at  home*  as  most  of  them 
used  barrels,  but  many  original  problems  were  made  up  by  the 
class. 

Plans  for  houses  and  bungalows  were  brought  in  by  the 
different  classes  and  the  best  put  on  the  mounting  board;  Almost 
every  child  had  a  plan,  which  he  had  cut  from  a  magazine  or 
paper,  pasted  in  his  arithmetic  note  book. 

One  boy  brought  in  the  plan  of  his  home  and  also  that  of 
the  streets  in  his  neighborhood.  It  has  recently  been  built  up  and 
paved  and  the  class  were  very  much  interested  in  it.  To  prove 
to  the  class  that  the  plans  were  correct,  the  boys  stopped  on  their 
way  from  school  and  measured  the  street,  and  two  who  lived  on 
Cook  Avenue  located  their  houses  on  the  drawing  and  then 
measured  their  lots  to  satisfy  their  curiosity.  The  work  with 
this  drawing  was  very  enlightening  and  instructive. 

While  we  were  doing  this -work  the  drawing  teachers  had 
the  classes  make  a  plan  of  some  room  in  their  own  home.  These 
were  put  into  their  arithmetic  notebooks,  and  I  feel  that  the 
children  got  more  out  of  the  work  because  they  saw  the  relation- 
ship between  their  mathematics  and  drawing. 

FURNISHING  THE  HOUSE 

We  found  the  number  of  yards  of  linoleum  required  for 
Mrs.  Parker's  kitchen,  and  from  other  measurements  obtained 
by  the  class  many  problems  were  worked  out. 

The  kind  of  covering  for  the  other  floors  was  discussed. 
Rugs  were  favored  by  the  children  and  some  excellent  reasons 
given  for  their  use.  The  size  and  kind  were  also  taken  into 

19 


consideration.  The  prices  of  rugs  were  obtained  from  newspaper 
advertisements  and  from  magazines. 

Some  excellent  problems  in  discount  were  worked  out  as 
many  of  the  rugs  were  marked  10%,  20%,  2$%  and  $0%  off. 

We  also  found  the  cost  of  different  articles  of  furniture 
when  one  and  two  discounts  were  allowed. 

FINANCING  THE  UNDERTAKING 

Having  planned  the  house,  we  considered  some  of  Mr. 
Parker's  expenses  in  building  and  running  it. 

The  first  question  was,  "Where  did  he  get  the  money  to  buy 
the  house?"  We  weren't  told,  so  we  were  free  to  guess.  We 
knew  he  could  not  save  a  great  deal  out  of  $1,800  per  year. 

Some  one  suggested  that  he  paid  $1,000  down  and  borrowed 
the  rest.  But  from  whom  would  he  borrow  it?  How?  The 
children  knew  a  great  deal  about  mortgages,  borrowing  from  the 
bank,  and  interest,  because  they  heard  a  great  deal  about  these 
topics  at  home.  The  question  of  buying  and  selling  property 
was  one  of  the  leading  ones  last  year. 

One  boy  brought  into  class  some  forms  of  mortgages  and 
deeds  which  he  had  obtained  from  his  father  who  is  a  Notary 
Public  and  Real  Estate  man. 

Some  of  the  other  expenses  considered  were  property  and 
life  insurance,  property  taxes  and  poll  taxes. 

I  found  the  children  better  able  to  attack  a  problem  after 
having  had  this  work.  The  eighth  grade  teacher  reports  that  the 
children  from  this  class  are  doing  better  problem  work  than  has 
been  dene  hereto foie. 

COMMENT 

The  children  had  a  different  light  thrown  on  their  work  in 
arithmetic  and  every  lesson  was  interesting  from  the  beginning 
to  the  end.  The  lessons  were  socialized  recitations  and  there 
were  opportunities  for  problem  solving.  There  was  a  dominat- 
ing purpose  which  guided  the  thinking  of  the  children  and  I 
have  endeavored  to  include  as  many  elements  of  good  teaching 
as  possible. 

The  following  are  the  parts  of  the  course  of  study  covered : 

1.  Reading — silent  and  aloud. 

2.  Spelling — a  list  of  new  words  was  kept. 

3.  Language — oral  and  written. 

4.  Drawing — measurement,    scale   drawing,    interpreting   a 
working  drawing. 

20 


5.  Arithmetic 

Percentage — 3  cases. 

[P  P 

Use  of  formula  1  —  =  B         R  =  - 

[R  B 

Bill  Forms. 

Area — square  and  rectangle. 

Volume — cube.     (Cellar,  coal  and  vegetable  bins.) 

Discount — ont  and  two. 

Interest. 

Promissory  Notes. 

Mortgages. 

Taxes. 

Insurance. 

Algebra  (using  one  unknown). 

New  Jersey  History 

Margaret  C.  Pogarty,  Seventh  Grade,  Freehold,  N.  J. 

SETTING 

In  teaching  the  history  of  New  Jersey,  the  children  showed 
great  interest  in  the  Battle  of  Monmouth,  as  they  live  in  the 
vicinity  of  that  battleground. 

Many  children  brought  pictures,  post  cards,  books,  and 
Monmouth  war  relics.  Others  suggested  trips  to  "Old  Tennent 
Church,"  "Molly  Pitcher's  Well,"  the  Episcopal  Church,  which 
was  used  as  a  hospital  during  the  battle.  So  much  material  was 
collected  that  the  question  arose,  "What  can  we  do  with  these 
things?"  and  some  one  suggested  we  begin  by  making  wall 
posters  to  decorate  the  history  classroom. 

ACTIVITIES 

As  only  a  few  pupils  could  work  on  one  poster,  and  there 
was  an  abundance  of  material,  other  children  suggested  making 
several  New  Jersey  posters  suggested  by  their  history  and  civics 
work.  The  following  posters  were  made : 

Colonial  life  in  New  Jersey. 

Roads  of  New  Jersey  to-day  and  yesterday. 

New  Jersey  in  the  Revolution. 

Modern  New  Jersey. 

New  Jersey  in  the  World's  War. 

Education  in  New  Jersey. 

Beauty  spots  in  New  Jersey,  etc. 

21 


Many  of  the  pupils  visited  residents  of  Freehold  who  had 
much  historical  knowledge;  the  Carnegie  Library  was  used  by 
all  for  reference  work;  and  other  supplementary  reading  was 
supplied  by  the  teacher,  as 

Stockton's  Stories  of  New  Jersey. 

Stories  of  Old  Monmouth. 

The  Young  Continentals. 

Local  History,  published  by  J.  Yard,  of  Freehold,  N.  J. 
The  class  was  divided  into  groups  or  committees  with  a 
leader  who  showed  initiative.  Each  committee  was  given  entire 
charge  of  a  certain  part  of  the  work.  The  different  members 
of  the  committee  had  to  submit  all  collected  material  and  ideas 
to  the  chairman  of  his  committee,  who  after  careful  study,  passed 
it  to  the  teacher  for  final  approval.  Incorrect,  inaccurate,  unsuit- 
able, or  inadequate  materials  or  statements  were  rejected  by 
leaders  until  they  measured  up  to  standards.  The  children 
learned  to  be  helpfully  critical  of  their  own  and  of  each  other's 
work.  Some  committees  had  charge  of  selecting  and  choosing 
materials,  others  of  arranging  materials,  some  of  pasting,  some 
of  correct  color  schemes,  others  of  printing,  and  others  of 
minor  details. 

Gradually  the  idea  of  co-operation  spread  to  the  department 
of  arithmetic,  geography  and  English  and  the  work  was  corre- 
lated along  those  lines.  In  geography,  product  and  industrial 
maps  were  made ;  in  arithmetic,  industrial  problems  were  thought 
out  and  solved;  in  English,  many  compositions  were  written 
from  the  charts  and  pictures,  much  reproduction,  oral  and  written 
from  the  stories  and  books  read;  many  descriptions  of  the  his- 
toric trips  taken  and  imaginary  letters  to  historic  characters  were 
written. 

COMMENT 

The  project  accomplished  much  more  than  was  expected  in 
many  ways.  The  posters  not  only  served  as  a  decoration  for 
the  class  room,  but  they  have  been  lent  to  lower  classes,  who  have 
used  them  in  their  work.  This  naturally  gave  the  children  an 
extra  pride  in  their  work. 

The  history  of  New  Jersey  seems  much  more  real  to  the 
children  and  undoubtedly  they  have  gained  more  interest  and 
more  concrete  knowledge  through  this  project. 

The  children  thoroughly  enjoyed  the  socialized  lessons,  as 
they  made  them  more  confident,  independent  and  trustworthy. 
On  their  history  trips  they  gathered  much  New  Jersey  historical 
knowledge  as  well  as  much  help  in  their  nature  work  and  geog- 
raphy. 

22 


The  value  of  the  project  to  individuals  has  been  beneficial, 
as  every  child  has  felt  a  certain  responsibility.  One  boy,  a  former 
sensitive,  uninterested  pupil,  was  willing  and  anxious  to  take  a 
main  part  in  a  "Molly  Pitcher"  float  at  the  May  Day  Fete  and 
showed  his  historical  knowledge  to  be  of  use. 

A  knowledge  of  the  past  of  New  Jersey  cannot  help  but  make 
the  children  more  interested  in  its  future. 

A  New  Cement  Walk  for  Our  School 

Fannie  W .  Pullen,  Seventh  Grade,  Trenton,  N.  J. 

The  teacher's  aims  were  to  interest  the  pupils  in  community 
life  and  to  arouse  a  feeling  of  individual  responsibility  for  the 
common  good.  (This  is  not  a  difficult  task  with  pupils  of  this 
age,  because  the  individual  instinct  which  is  strong  in  younger 
children  is  giving  place  to  the  social  instinct.) 

The  pupils'  aims  were,  first,  to  keep  the  classroom  free  from 
mud  and  dust;  second,  to  improve  the  appearance  of  our  school 
grounds. 

TEACHER'S  PREPARATION 

The  teacher  made  a  plan  for  the  problem  of  securing  walks 
and  decided  how  it  could  be  correlated  with  civics,  business 
forms,  arithmetic,  language,  hygiene,  etc.  She  listed  the 
questions  which  she  would  ask  to  arouse  the  pupils'  interest  and 
those  which  she  would  expect  the  pupils  to  answer  by  the  time 
the  problem  was  completed.  She  was  especially  concerned  with 
questions  which  would  lead  the  pupils  to  find  problems  for  them- 
selves. Text  books,  reference  books  and  magazines  were  placed 
on  the  magazine  rack  in  the  room.  The  pupils  greatly  added  to 
this  collection. 

PURPOSING 

"I  wish,  children,  you  would  write  a  list  of  the  improve- 
ments which  you  have  made  this  year.  Select  the  one  which 
you  think  has  given  us  the  most  pleasure  and  write  a  paragraph 
about  it.  When  you  finish  we  shall  select  the  best.  I  want  to  let 
the  Superintendent  know  what  we  have  been  doing  when  I  send 
in  my  report  Friday." 

The  paragraphs  were  read  and  discussed.  The  pupils  se- 
lected the  best  and  corrected  it  as  a  class  exercise.  It  was  copied 
by  the  best  penman  in  the  class  for  me. 

Teacher :  "Is  there  any  other  improvement  that  you  eighth 
grade  people  would  like  to  make  for  your  school?" 

23 


Many  suggestions  were  made,  some  of  which  were  carried 
out,  but  not  the  one  the  teacher  wanted.  She  said,  "These  sug- 
gestions are  all  good.  You  think  them  over  and  we  will  decide 
soon  which  is  best." 

The  next  day  the  weather  man  favored  the  teacher.  It 
rained  hard.  The  ground  was  muddy  and  the  children  carried 
great  quantities  into  the  class  room. 

Teacher :  "John,  will  you  please  get  the  brush  and  pan  and 
clean  up  the  dirt  in  front  of  the  piano.  It  looks  so  untidy." 

John  did  so ;  then  he  said,  "May  I  brush  the  floor  under  my 
desk.  I  couldn't  help  bringing  the  mud  in." 

Teacher:     "Is  the  school  ground  in  such  a  bad  condition?" 

Chorus  of  answers:  "It's  awful."  "Why  don't  we  have 
a  pavement  around  the  side  of  the  school." 

Teacher :    "I  don't  know.     Perhaps  it  costs  too  much." 

Pupil:  "We  need  one  anyway.  Let's  see  if  we  can't  find 
out  about  it." 

Teacher :  "That's  a  good  idea.  If  you  \vish  you  may  talk 
about  it  this  morning  and  make  your  plans." 

Pupil:  "Oh!  Good!  May  Mabel  (class  president)  be  the 
leader?  It's  much  more  fun  when  you  are  a  member  of  the 
class." 

Teacher :  "Yes ;  and  as  you  make  a  list  of  what  you  are 
going  to  do,  John  had  better  write  the  questions  on  the  board." 

PLANNING 

Mabel:     "Whom  shall  we  ask  about  the  walk?" 

Answers :  "I'll  ask  my  father."  "Does  it  tell  in  our  book?" 
"The  Board  of  Education  buys  our  books  and  papers.  Do  they 
look  after  the  outside  of  the  school  too?"  "Do  they,  Miss 
Pullen?" 

Teacher :  "Look  in  the  index  for  Board  of  Education  and 
see  what  their  duties  are." 

The  questions  asked  and  answered  in  the  discussion  that 
followed  were  too  numerous  to  list  here.  The  pupils  made  the 
list  of  problems  to  be  solved : 

i.  Who  is  responsible  for  the  condition  of  our  school  yard? 

(a)  Are   the   members   of   the    Board    of    Education 

elected  or  chosen? 

(b)  What  kind  of  men  should  be  selected  to  serve  on 

this  important  board? 

(c)  Compensation. 

(d)  Term  of  office. 

(e)  When  and  where  do  they  meet? 

(f)  What  are  their  duties? 

24 


2.  How  should  we  proceed  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Board 
of  Education  to  our  immediate  need? 

(a)  List  reasons  why  we  need  a  walk. 

(b)  Selection  of  best  location  for  a  walk. 

(c)  Measuring  length,  breadth  and  course  of  the  pro- 

posed walk. 

(d)  Plan  of  school  yard  drawn  to  a  scale  showing  the 

location  of  the  proposed  walk. 

(e)  Estimation  of  cost. 

1 i )  Study  of  kinds  of  material. 

(2)  Location  of  sources  of  material. 

(3)  Costs  of  material. 

'(Consult  contractors  and  cement  works.) 

(f)  Write  a  petition  to  the  Board  of  Education,  in- 

cluding the  reasons  and  the  estimated  cost. 
Send  the  plan  of  the  school  yard  with  the  peti- 
tion. 

(g)  Select  two   pupils  to  present  the  petition  to  all 

pupils  above  the  third  grade  in  assembly;  one 
to  show  the  plan  and  explain  the  advantages  of 
the  proposed  walk ;  the  other  to  read  the  petition 
and  ask  for  the  signatures  of  all  the  children. 
Note. — These  same  pupils  did  so  well  that  they  were  unani- 
mously chosen  to  present  the  petition  to  the  Board  of  Education. 
The  pupils  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  walk  constructed. 

DIVISION  OF  WORK 

The  topics  in  No.  i  were  each  assigned  to  a  group  of  pupils 
under  a  chairman.  These  pupils  secured  the  facts  and  reported 
in  the  Civics  class  for  the  fourth  lesson. 

2.  (a)  General  class  discussion  in  the  Civics  class,  third 
lesson.  (In  language  that  morning  the  pupils  wrote  a  paper  set- 
ting forth  the  reasons  for  the  "walk.") 

(b)  The  teacher  met  the  pupils  in  the  yard  at  the  close  of 
the  recess  period  on  the  third  day.     They  selected  the  best  loca- 
tion (elevation,  drainage  and  beauty  were  considered) ;  decided 
upon  the  width  of  the  walk  and  measured  the  distance. 

Many  arithmetic  problems  were  based  on  these  problems  of 
measuring  and  estimating  the  cost. 

(c)  The  measuring  was  done  by  all  the  pupils  in  the  draw- 
ing period  (three  or  four  lessons).     The  drawings  were  placed 
along  the  blackboard  and  the  best  was  selected  by  ballot. 

(d)  All  the  pupils  wrote  a  petition,  the  correct  form  of 
which  was  written  on  the  board.    The  petition  included  the  rea- 
sons for  the  walk.    The  best  one  was  selected,  after  class  discus- 
sion, and  was  written  on  a  typewriter  by  a  boy  who  had  one  at 
home. 

25 


COURSE  OF  STUDY 

It  will  be  seen  by  looking  at  these  problems  that  the  work  for 
a  great  many  subjects  in  the  curriculum  was  provided  for. 

Language — oral  and  written  language. 

Business  letters  to  construction  firms. 

Petition. 

Hygiene — Health;  germ  carriers. 

Prevention  of  colds;  advantages  of  cleanliness. 

Mathematics — Selection  of  location  as  to  drainage;  eleva- 
tion, measuring,  cost.  (The  curve  was  y\  of  a  circle  with  a 
radius  equal  to  the  distance  from  the  street  to  the  door,  hence 
work  in  mensuration  was  indirectly  motivated.) 

Comparison  of  various  costs  submitted  by  construction  com- 
panies. 

Drawing — Competition,  an  instinct  which  is  strong  in  ado- 
lescence, was  appealed  to.  Two  plans  were  submitted — one,  a 
straight  walk  directly  from  the  street  to  the  side  door,  without 
beauty ;  the  other  one  with  a  curve.  The  last  was  adopted.  The 
aesthetic  sense  was  appealed  to  in  deciding  which  walk  would  give 
the  school  grounds  the  best  appearance. 

Civics — (a)  How  to  attack  a  civics  problem,  (b)  Interest 
in  the  Board  of  Education  was  aroused. 

Geography — Sources  of  building  materials. 

Spelling  and  penmanship — New  words  were  learned.  All 
writing  was  for  a  definite  purpose,  hence  it  had  to  be  neat  and 
legible. 

Reading — When  the  pupils  secured  information  from  let- 
ters or  other  sources  which  the  whole  group  needed  it  was  read 
aloud.  Thus  there  was  a  motive  for  good  oral  reading.  It  was 
necessary  to  give  just  the  facts  to  the  class  in  civics,  hence  good, 
silent  reading  was  necessary. 

VALUE  OF  THE  PROJECT 

This  project  motivated  the  work  in  all  the  subjects  men- 
tioned because  it  was  in  response  to  a  felt  need.  Plato  said, 
"Curiosity  is  the  mother  of  all  knowledge."  Interest  is  only 
another  name  for  curiosity. 

The  pupils  collected  specimens  of  crushed  stone  used  by 
construction  companies  as  a  base,  and  samples  of  cement.  They 
learned  how  to  originate  a  problem  and  solve  it.  They  collected 
the  facts,  judged  their  value,  organized  and  used  them  in  present- 
ing the  petition  to  the  Board  of  Education. 

They  saw  the  need  for  accuracy,  neatness  and  promptness. 
In  order  to  carry  on  the  project  as  fast  as  the  pupils  wished, 
reports  of  committees  had  to  be  on  time  and  had  to  give  the 

26 


information  which  the  group  needed.  (Pupils  are  more  severe 
judges  than  teachers.) 

As  the  pupils  worked  out  their  own  school  problem  they 
became  more  observant  of  city  improvements  and  of  needed  im- 
provements. Clippings  from  the  daily  papers  were  brought  into 
class  and  pasted  on  the  bulletin  board.  Thus  the  problem  served 
to  bring  the  pupils  into  closer  touch  with  their  environment. 

All  of  the  pupils  gained  new  experiences  in  their  proper 
relation  to  a  real  life  situation.  (Education  is  the  acquisition  of 
new  experience  when  new  situations  arise. ) 

REFERENCES  USED 

"Community  and  Citizen,"  Dunn. 
D.  C.  Heath  Co.,  Boston. 
"Nation  and  State,"  Philips. 
"A  First  Book  in  Business  Forms." 
Teller  &  Brown,  published  by  Rand  McNally. 
Tarr  &  McMurray  Geography. 

Hoyt  &  Peet — Advanced  Arithmetic   (pages  for  topics  se- 
cured from  index). 

Better  English  Week 

Marie  Collisi,  Eighth  Grade,  Trenton,  N.  /. 

PURPOSING 

In  English  we  had  been  correcting  faulty  grammar  and  pro- 
nunciation all  the  year,  and  at  last  came  to  dictionary  work  and  a 
discussion  of  slang,  colloquialism,  vulgarism,  and  the  need  for 
better  English  among  American  people.  The  girls  had  talked 
about  the  common  habit  of  slang  among  our  fellow-countrymen, 
and  had  given  instances  from  their  own  experience  of  how  it  had 
dwarfed  their  own  vocabularies.  We  had  talked  about  how 
necessary  it  was  to  interest  the  boys  and  girls  in  better  English 
if  we  would  really  improve  the  speech  of  our  own  community. 
Just  at  this  time  one  of  the  girls  said,  "Couldn't  we  show  the  rest 
of  the  school  how  important  it  is  that  they  learn  what  we  have 
been  learning?" 

"How  will  you  do  it?"  I  asked. 

"Couldn't  we  have  a  Better  English  Week  ?  They  had  one 
in  High  School.  We  will  take  charge  of  it  here." 

PLANNING 

I  had  hoped  for  some  such  suggestion,  so  I  immediately  an- 
swered, "Yes,  indeed.  But  how  will  you  do  it  ?  How  will  you 

27 


carry  on  such  a  campaign?     Remember  there  are  almost  eight 
hundred  students  here,  and  it  will  be  a  big  undertaking." 

But  the  girls  were  ready  with  plans  before  I  had  finished. 
"Let's  have  a  play  and  show  them  how  to  use  good  English." 
"Let's  make  posters  showing  them  their  speech  errors." 
"Let's  have  a  vocabulary  committee  to  help  build  up  their 
vocabularies." 

"Let's  have  slogans  for  better  speech  as  they  had  for  'Clean- 
up Week'." 

"Let's  write  compositions  on  Better  English." 
"Couldn't  the  best  ones  be  read  in  the  auditorium?" 
"Let's  have  a  Better  English  club." 

ORGANIZATION 

Each  one  of  these  suggestions  was  carried  out.  The  class 
already  had  its  officers  and  regular  class  organization.  The  pres- 
ident appointed  the  chairmen  of  the  various  committees  after 
she  had  consulted  with  the  other  officers.  Each  girl  chosen  was 
asked  if  she  would  like  to  serve  as  chairman  of  the  particular 
committee  for  which  she  had  been  chosen.  Great  care  and  real 
wisdom  was  exercised  by  the  class  officers  in  their  choice.  For 
example,  the  girl  who  was  chosen  as  chairman  of  the  Poster 
Committee  did  excellent  work  in  drawing;  the  chairman  of  the 
Play  Committee  did  excellent  work  in  English  and  had  been 
instrumental  in  working  out  previously  two  of  the  class  drama- 
tizations. I  acted  only  as  an  advisor  in  this  work  of  selecting 
chairmen. 

After  the  girls  were  selected  as  chairmen,  each  individual 
chairman  selected  three  or  five  girls  to  serve  on  her  committee. 
Again  the  girls  in  the  class  were  allowed  to  state  their  preference 
as  to  the  committee  upon  which  they  wished  to  serve. 

The  next  step  in  the  preliminary  organization  was  taken 
by  the  class  officers.  They  interviewed  the  principal  of  the 
school,  and  after  explaining  their  plan,  asked  his  co-operation 
and  permission  to  carry  it  out.  Of  course,  he  agreed.  Then, 
they  went  to  classroom  teachers  and  asked  if  they  might  have 
reserved  for  them,  during  the  week  of  their  campaign,  one  por- 
tion of  the  blackboard  in  each  room.  After  explaining  that  they 
wished  to  put  there,  each  day,  a  "Better  English"  slogan  and  a 
list  of  vocabulary  words,  they  secured  their  co-operation  also. 

ACTIVITIES 

Earlier  in  the  year,  we  had  studied  in  literature  the  develop- 
ment of  the  drama.  To  illustrate  a  simple  form  of  the  morality 
play,  I  had  read  to  them  Constance  D'Arey  Mackage's  play, 

28 


"The  House  of  the  Heart."  Before  the  play  committee  began 
their  work,  they  discussed,  with  the  class  as  a  whole,  the  kind 
of  play  which  should  be  given.  After  one  or  two  ideas,  some  one 
suggested  that  a  play,  on  the  order  of  the  "House  of  the  Heart," 
would  serve  a  double  purpose — it  would  be  an  excellent  way  to 
present  their  "Better  English"  idea,  and  would  show  the  school 
an  example  o-f  their  literature  work.  Accordingly,  this  suggestion 
was  adopted  and  the  committee  began  its  work.  My  part  in  the 
composition  was  merely  to  correct  the  manuscript  when  it  was 
handed  to  me  for  approval.  I  made  no  changes  in  its  structure 
or  general  plan. 

They  took  as  their  characters  a  Child,  Good  English,  Poor 
Grammar,  Slang,  Obsolete  Words,  Localisms,  Overworked 
Words,  and  Mispronunciation.  The  general  idea  of  the  play 
was  this:  The  Child  decided  that  Good  English  was  not  neces- 
sary. Then,  one  by  one,  Slang,  Localisms,  etc.,  came  in,  trying 
to  persuade  the  Child  to  let  them  stay  in  her  vocabulary.  Good 
English  said  she  could  not  remain  with  them  and  that  the  Child 
must  take  her  choice.  As  Child  listened  to  them,  when  they 
begged  to  stay,  she  grew  more  and  more  determined  that  she 
did  not  want  them  and  at  last  she  said  she  wanted  Good  English 
by  her  all  her  life,  and  bade  the  rest  depart. 

Unfortunately,  one  of  the  girls  accidently  destroyed  the 
manuscript.  I  remember  only  one  of  the  two  speeches,  which 
were  particularly  apt.  Slang  asked  who  the  "guy"  was  who 
had  "blown  in."  In  another  place  she  said  Child  was  "nutty" 
and  "cracked."  Localism's  speech  was  made  up  of  very  common 
Trenton  localisms  which  we  had  discussed  previously  in  class. 

The  chairman  and  her  committee  selected  the  girls  who  were 
to  take  part  in  the  play,  which  they  called,  "The  Child's  Vocabu- 
lary." They  planned  the  stage  setting  and  did  the  directing. 
This  again  was  in  line  with  their  classroom  work  in  oral  reading, 
for  we  frequently  had  dramatizations.  Since  the  play  was  to  be 
presented  before  the  school,  I  helped  them  one  afternoon  after 
school,  although  they  needed  little  help,  but  mainly  encourage- 
ment. 

They  planned  their  own  costumes.  Each  girl  wore  a  white 
middy  and  skirt  and  a  special  committee  made  white  cardboard 
strips  to  fasten  from  shoulder  to  waist.  On  these,  they  printed 
in  black,  the  name  of  the  character. 

I  knew  there  was  a  pamphlet  on  "Better  English  Week" 
prepared  by  the  National  Council  of  English  Teachers  and  pub- 
lished in  Chicago.  For  our  written  composition  that  week,  we 
wrote  business  letters  ordering  it.  These  letters  were  put  on  the 
board,  and  the  best  one. was  copied  and  sent. 

29 


In  the  meantime,  the  poster  committee  had  begun  its  work. 
The  chairman  conferred  with  the  art  teacher  and  assigned  girls 
to  make  posters.  Some  were  simply  printed  in  striking  colors. 
As  "Watch  your  ing's,"  which  was  red  on  white.  Others  were 
worked  out  as  a  basket  full  of  scraps  of  paper  with  such  words 
as,  "ain't,"  "I  done  it,"  "He  seen  it,"  "Can  I  set  there?"  on 
the  scraps  coming  out  of  the  top.  Some  other  subjects  for  posters 
were,  "One  Flag,  One  Country,  One  Language,"  "Do  you  mur- 
der the  King's  English?" — a  revolver,  which,  when  fired,  scat- 
tered a  word  into  it's  separate  letters.  From  the  book  which  the 
girls  had  received,  they  got  mottos  which  they  worked  cleverly 
into  posters.  "Good  English  is  the  Root  of  All  Knowledge." 
"Good  English  Will  Light  Your  Way  Into  the  Best  Company." 
"Good  English  Is  the  Road  to  Success."  When  these  were 
finished  they  were  given  to  the  chairman  of  the  committee. 

The  slogan  committee  solicited  the  help  of  the  entire  class  in 
its  work.  Each  girl  was  asked  to  hand  in  a  slogan,  and  although 
all  were  not  usable,  the  committee  used  the  majority.  It  also 
found  some  valuable  aid  in  the  book,  for  which  they  had  sent. 
Some  of  their  slogans  were  as  follows : 

"Speak  Good  English  and  Good  English  Will  Speak  for 
You." 

"Do  You  Use  'Lie'  Properly?" 

"Beware!     Bad  English  is  About." 

"He  may  get  you  if  you  don't  watch  out!" 

"Speak  English." 

"Your  English  tells  everyone  who  and  what  you  are." 

"Watch  Your  Speech!" 

"Do  you  say,  'It  is  F  ?" 

"Get  rid  of  'and'." 

These  are  only  a  few  examples.  The  girls  had  about  fifty 
in  all.  Each  girl  on  the  committee  was  assigned  a  classroom 
and  was  given  a  list  of  slogans  for  that  room. 

In  class,  the  girls  wrote  compositions  on  subjects  suggested 
by  themselves,  as : 

"From  Where  Did  the  English  Language  Come?" 

"The  Social  Value  of  Good  English." 

"The  Practical  Value  of  Good  English." 

"Good  English  in  Business  and  in  Every  Day  Life." 

"The  Advantage  of  a  Large  Vocabulary." 

"Some  Common  Errors  and  How  to  Conquer  Them." 

After  these  had  been  read  and  discussed  in  class  the  two 
best  were  chosen  by  the  class  to  be  read  before  the  school. 

Then  the  girls  decided  that  their  class  would  form  a  Better 
English  Club,  which  would  have  as  its  aim  the  promoting  of 

30 


better  English  throughout  the  remainder  of  the  year.  They 
decided  to  invite  pupils  from  other  classes  to  join,  if  they  had  a 
monthly  average  of  eighty-five  in  English,  to  plan  interesting 
programs  for  their  meetings  which  would  be  held  every  two 
weeks.  The  thirty  girls  in  the  class  were  to  be  charter  members. 
In  order  to  prepare  for  this,  they  made  tags  of  white  cardboard, 
tied  them  with  dark  green  string  (making  their  class  colors, 
green  and  white),  and  on  them  printed  "B.  E.  C."  (Better 
English  Club).  They  also  decided  to  have  their  class  president 
explain  the  club  to  the  school  during  the  Auditorium  period. 

These  preparations  took  up  about  three  weeks.  At  last,  the 
week  which  the  class  had  decided  upon  for  a  Better  English 
week  came,  and  they  were  ready  for  their  campaign.  In  our 
school  we  have  Auditorium  exercises  on  Tuesdays  and  Thurs- 
days. The  girls  asked  the  principal  to  change  them  to  Monday 
and  Thursday  for  that  week,  and  also  to  allow  them  to  have 
charge  of  the  exercises.  This  he  did. 

On  Monday  morning  the  girls  came  to  school  very  early, 
dressed  in  white  and  wearing  their  B.  E.  C.  tags.  The  poster 
committee  placed  the  posters  in  the  most  conspicuous  places— 
the  first,  second,  and  third  floor  corridors,  in  the  office,  the  lunch- 
room, and  to  my  surprise,  the  chairman  had  asked  the  aid  of  the 
Manual  Training  teacher,  and  had  had  two  of  the  best  ones 
placed  on  either  side  of  the  flag  on  the  back  wall  of  the  Audi- 
torium, behind  the  reading  desk.  The  Slogan  and  Vocabulary 
Committees  were  active  also,  and  when  I  went  in  the  various 
classrooms,  I  saw  the  spaces  on  which,  during  the  previous  week 
there  had  been  written  such  notices  as  "Watch  this  Space,"  "Im- 
portant Information  to  be  Here!"  now  had  the  slogans  written 
in  them  in  yellow  crayon. 

In  the  Auditorium  that  day  (Monday)  one  of  the  girls 
explained  the  Better  Speech  Campaign;  the  two  girls  who  had 
been  chosen  read  their  compositions  on  Better  English.  Each 
day  the  girls  changed  the  slogans  and  vocabulary  words  in  each 
classroom.  Wednesday  they  put  on  the  boards  corrected  com- 
mon errors,  and  words  often  mispronounced  and  misspelled.  For 
instance,  on  every  board  was  going,  separate,  and  similar  words. 

In  my  class  they  made  an  English  pledge  which  they  printed 
on  white  cardboard  for  use  during  the  Auditorium  period  on 
Thursday.  On  their  class  room  door  they  had  a  placard,  "Head- 
quarters of  the  Better  English  Campaign."  Some  of  the  other 
classes  co-operated  by  volunteering  slogans  and  words  for  the 
Vocabulary  Committee. 

On  Thursday,  the  class  president  took  charge  of  the  exer- 
cises. The  girls  had  written  to  the  head  of  the  high  school 

3i 


English  department,  and  to  their  parents,  inviting  them  to  attend 
the  exercises.  The  class  gave  their  play,  "The  Child's'  Vocabu- 
lary." To  their  great  joy  most  of  the  invitations  were  accepted. 
After  this  the  President  explained  their  B.  E.  C.  tags  and  club 
and  displayed  the  class  pledge. 

COMMENT 

On  the  whole  the  campaign  was  a  success.  I  could  not 
measure  the  value  to  the  rest  of  the  school,  although  the  B.  E.  C. 
became  a  very  popular  and  much  sought  after  club;  but  I  know 
that  my  class  derived  benefits  that  could  scarcely  be  measured. 
The  fact  that  it  had  been  their  problem,  that  they  had  worked  it 
out  and  had  seen  its  success  made  them  more  than  ever  interested 
in  their  English  work.  Before  this  they  thought  speech  errors 
a  necessary  evil ;  now  they  went  at  them  as  if  they  must  and 
would  be  uprooted. 

Their  committees  gave  them  excellent  practice  in  working 
together  and  in  considering  each  other's  desires.  Most  of  the 
work  of  planning  for  the  campaign  was  done  in  class  periods, 
which  necessitated  socialized  recitations  entirely.  Here  would 
be  one  girl  working  at  her  poster  on  a  drawing  board,  another 
planning.  I  made  myself  an  advisor,  going  from  group  to 
group,  listening  to  their  plans,  and  suggesting  but  seldom.  This 
was  possible  with  the  class  I  had,  for  they  were  particularly  capa- 
ble, intelligent  people. 

COURSE  OF  STUDY 

This  problem  provided  for  covering  the  course  of  study  in 
its  main  lines.  There  were  added  opportunities  in  the  letter 
writing  which  the  girls  did,  their  business  letters  and  notes  of 
invitation ;  for  written  composition,  in  the  paper  which  they 
wrote  for  presentation  in  the  Auditorium;  for  oral  composition, 
in  their  many  talks,  both  in  the  general  class  planning  and 
in  their  separate  committees;  for  public  speaking,  in  the  play 
which  they  presented  to  the  school;  for  literature  review,  in 
planning  the  play.  Since  printing  and  poster  planning  are  part 
of  the  eighth  grade  course  of  study  in  art,  there  was  further 
opportunity  for  correlation. 

The  entire  class  was  interested  and  enthusiastic,  and  to  them 
their  English  work  was  made  more  vivid,  real  and  practical  by 
the  problem  which  they  had  helped  solve. 


Artificial  Waterways  of  the  World 

Marie  L.  Weldon,  Eighth  Grade,  Linden,  N.  J. 

SITUATION 

•Our  eighth  grade  geography  class  was  completing  a  study 
of  irrigation  in  the  dry  lands  of  our  own  and  other  countries. 
The  children  were  beginning  to  ask  what  the  next  project  would 
be.  One  girl,  who  had  studied  about  the  canals  of  China,  sug- 
gested the  making  of  a  study  of  the  world's  great  canals.  One 
or  two  other  subjects  were  mentioned  and  the  children  were 
asked  to  talk  the  matter  over  among  themselves,  preparatory  to 
a  class  vote. 

ADOPTION  OF  PROJECT 

About  two  days  later,  when  the  irrigation  work  was  com- 
pleted, the  class  voted  unanimously  for  a  project  which  was 
named  "Canals  of  the  World." 

ACTIVITIES 

After  the  class  vote  the  rest  of  the  period  was  given  to  an 
informal  discussion  of  the  ground  to  be  covered,  problems  to  be 
solved  and  general  plans  for  carrying  out  the  project. 

The  class  decided  that  an  outline  was  necessary.  With 
suggestions  and  questions  on  my  part  the  outline  was  begun. 
After  a  lively  discussion  the  class  decided  that  the  study  of  the 
Erie  and  Panama  Canals  should  be  made  more  detailed  than  that 
of  foreign  canals.  The  chairman,  who  was  elected  by  the  class 
each  week,  appointed  a  committee  to1  look  up  the  history  of  canals 
and  their  various  uses  for  the  next  lesson. 

PROGRESS 

Next  clay,  when  the  first  topic  was  completed,  another  com- 
mittee was  asked  to  report  on  the  Erie  Canal.  The  points  to  be 
considered  were  mainly  those  of  construction,  cost,  past  and 
present  usefulness. 

From  the  first  there  seemed  to  be  a  very  great  interest  in  the 
Panama  Canal.  The  outline  became  somewhat  more  detailed, 
but  lost  none  of  its  interest  thereby.  Committees  and  individuals 
reported  on  material  that  was  not  available  for  the  entire  class, 
but  the  bulk  of  the  work  was  done  by  the  class  as  a  whole  through 
the  medium  of  the  socialized  recitation.  The  class  discussed  such 
topics  as  the  following: 

Early  explorers  in  Panama. 
The  sack  of  Panama  by  Morgan. 

33 


The  failure  of  the  French. 

Effect   of   the   Spanish- American   War   on   American 
public  opinion  concerning  an  interoceanic  canal. 

The  revolution  in  Panama  and  the  purchase  of  a  canal 
zone. 

Men    who    made    the    canal    possible,    as    Roosevelt, 
Goethals,  Gorgas. 

Difficulties   of   canal   construction,   owing   to   climate, 
disease,  surface. 

Gatun  Lake  and  Locks. 
Cost,  tonnage,  etc. 

Value  of   the  canal  to  our  own   country  and   to   the 
world. 

Early  in  the  project  the  class  decided  to  make  individual 
booklets  containing  a  written  report  of  the  work  covered,  maps, 
pictures,  or  other  interesting  material.  The  booklets  were  to  be 
kept  up  to  date  as  far  as  possible.  One  geography  period  a  week 
was  given  to  booklet  work  and  we  found  it  necessary  to  use  the 
writing  period  for  written  reports. 

When  the  booklets  were  finished  each  member  of  the  class 
made  a  bibliography  of  the  reference  material  he  had  used.  An 
index  was  also  thought  necessary. 

Practically  the  entire  responsibility  was  thrown  upon  the 
class  throughout  the  project.  I  gave  few,  if  any,  direct  com- 
mands; but  suggested  ways  of  improvement,  change  or  correc- 
tion. 

COURSE  of  STUDY  COVERED 

Besides  the  geography  work,  which  I  think  is  obvious,  there 
were  problems  of  history,  such  as  the  trouble  with  Colombia. 
Oral  English  was  provided  for,  in  class  discussions  and  written 
English  in  the  booklets.  The  writing  of  the  reports  in  the  book- 
let was  used  as  lessons  in  writing;  difficult  words  were  studied 
in  spelling;  there  were  several  drawing  lessons,  during  which 
letters  and  a  cover  design  were  made.  Of  course,  there  was 
plenty  of  reading,  chiefly  silent  reading. 

RESULTS 

Besides  gaining  a  knowledge  of  the  world's  great  canals,  the 
class  seemed  to  gain  in  the  power  of  co-operation.  One  very 
important  outcome,  I  think,  is  a  greater  pride  in  American 
achievement,  as  shown  by  the  interest  in  the  Panama  Canal.  The 
most  noticeable  result  was  the  change  in  attitude  of  one  member 
of  the  class.  This  boy,  who  came  from  another  school,  is  very 
slow.  At  the  time  of  the  project  he  seemed  to  gain  a  sense  of 

34 


his  responsibility  to  the  class.  This  attitude  was  noticeable  im- 
mediately after  he  had  surprised  the  class  with  a  very  clear 
account  of  the  working  of  a  canal  lock. 

REFERENCES 

Scott — The  Americans  in  Panama. 

Cause  &  Carr — The  Story  of  Panama. 

Allen — South  America. 

Brigham — Commercial  Geography  From  Trail  to  Railway. 

Fisher — Resources  and  Industries  of  the  U.  S. 

Redway — Commercial  Geography. 

Rochelean — Geography  of  Commerce  and  Industry. 

Hepburn — Artificial  Waterways  of  the  World. 

McMurray — Teaching  by  Projects. 

National  Geographic  Magazine. 

Pan-American  Union  Bulletin. 

Illustrated  World. 

Literary  Digest. 

Newspaper  clippings. 

Pictures  from  old  books,  magazines,  etc. 

Postcards  of  Panama  Canal. 

English  Project 

Mabel  G.  Adair,  Eighth  Grade,  Morristo-wn,  N.  J. 

PURPOSING 

Our  first  project  for  the  eighth  year  English  class  was  to 
write  a  Supplementary  Reader  for  the  third  grade. 

One  morning  I  said,  "How  many  of  you  have  a  younger 
brother  or  sister  in  a  third  or  fourth  grade?" 

Many  hands  went  up. 

Then  I  asked,  "Does  he  or  she  ever  bring  home  the  reading 
book  used  in  that  grade?" 

Again  there  were  many  affirmative  replies. 

"What  sort  of  stories  does  your  brother  or  sister  like  best?" 

"Fairy  stories,"  "Animal  stories/'  "Stories  full  of  make- 
believe,"  were  some  of  the  answers  given. 

Then  I  said,  "I  wonder  if  you  could  write  any  stories  they 
would  care  to  read?" 

Most  of  the  class  thought  that  quite  possible. 

I  unfolded  the  plan  of  writing  a  Supplementary  Reader  and 
asked  the  boys  who  were  taking  printing  if  they  thought  they 
could  print  our  stories  in  book  form.  They  were  quite  sure  that 
could  be  done,  and  the  class  went  on  to  plan  the  number  of 

35 


stories  needed,  the  arrangement,  illustrations  and  binding  of  a 
small  booklet. 

It  was  decided  that  each  pupil  should  write  six  short  stories 
or  divide  long  ones  into  six  reading  lessons  and  place  suitable 
spelling  words  at  the  top  of  each. 

Then  these  would  be  given  to  a  committee  and,  if  that  com- 
mittee thought  them  interesting  and  suitable  for  the  purpose,  be 
handed  back  to  the  authors  to  be  corrected  and  rewritten,  if 
necessary.  A  date  two  weeks  off  was  set  for  all  stories  to  be  in 
the  hands  of  the  committee,  which  was  elected  by  the  class. 

ACTIVITIES 

During  these  two  weeks  all  home  work  was  to  be  on  the 
stories  and  some  four  or  five  English  or  study  periods  were 
given  to  the  pupils  for  writing  at  school  where  they  could  ask 
for  suggestions  from  the  teacher.  The  remaining  English 
periods  were  used  for  lessons  in  paragraph  arrangement  and 
punctuation,  particularly  the  use  of  quotation  marks. 

The  committee  worked  hard  to  decide  upon  the  stories 
worthy  of  being  made  into  a  book  and  the  pupils  proved  very 
willing  to  rewrite  and  correct  work  as  suggested  to  them  by  its 
members.  Finally  nearly  every  pupil  had  six  reading  lessons  that 
a  younger  child  might  be  expected  to  enjoy.  Then  each  planned 
a  design  and  'made  a  cover  of  drawing  paper.  The  art  teacher 
helped  here. 

Of  course,  the  printing  department  could  not  print  thirty- 
five  or  forty  different  little  Third  Readers,  so  we  picked  out  one 
of  the  best  and  the  eighth  grade  boys  set  it  up  and  ran  off  fifty 
copies. 

Much  interest  was  shown  in  this  printed  booklet  when  it 
came  up  to  the  class.  Here  was  their  own  work  in  actual  com- 
mercial form. 

Each  pupil  was  very  willing  to  take  one,  make  a  cover  for 
it  and  go  to  old  magazines  for  illustrations.  The  stories  in 
our  final  booklet  are  alike,  but  the  covers  and  illustrations  show 
a  wide  range  of  taste. 

Then  a  third  grade  teacher  offered  to  try  these  wonderful 
Supplementary  Readers  in  her  class  room ;  so  we  sent  them  to 
her.  The  verdict  returned  by  our  small  critics  was  very  satis- 
factory. They  enjoyed  both  stories  and  pictures  very  much. 

RESULTS 

This  project  motivated  all  composition  work  for  a  month. 
It  provided  a  center  around  which  all  the  lessons  in  sentence 
building,,  paragraphing  and  punctuation  were  grouped.  The 
writing  of  the  stories  gave  free  play  to  the  imagination  of  the 

36 


pupils  and  gave  each  a  chance  to  see  if  he  or  she  could  write 
something-  of  interest  to  a  pupil  of  another  grade.  Planning  the 
covers  and  illustrations  gave  a  chance  for  the  art  department  to 
co-operate  and  the  actual  printing  of  the  final  choice  for  the  little 
Supplementary  Reader  gave  the  boys  of  that  class  a  chance  to 
display  their  skill  in  a  real  trade  project.  The  penmanship  was 
the  best  we  had  seen  in  some  time,  for  the  committee  members 
often  asked  that  the  first  stories  handed  in  be  written  over,  "Be- 
cause your  little  brother  couldn't  read  that." 

This  project  can  be  used  in  many  ways.  If  an  eighth  grade 
is  studying  the  legends  of  King  Arthur  it  will  enjoy  writing  them 
for  a  sixth  grade.  If  the  history  teacher  co-operates,  the  grade 
can  write  a  reader  for  fourth  or  fifth  grade  composed  of  stories 
of  American  History. 

There  are  many  possibilities  which  will  occur  to  the  teacher 
interested  in  teaching  English  by  the  project  method. 

The  following  is  one  of  our  stories : 

CHRISTMAS  EVE 

It  was  Christmas  Eve.  Everyone  was  in  bed  when  little 
Wanda  got  up,  took  her  little  woolly  lamb  and  went  downstairs 
to  see  if  Santa  had  come  yet. 

When  she  got  to  the  landing  she  found  the  lamb  was  too 
much  to  carry,  because  she  had  to  crawl  downstairs;  so  she  let 
it  go  by  itself,  and  it  fell  and  broke  its  head. 

Wanda  forgot  about  the  lamb,  because,  when  she  got  down- 
stairs, she  discovered  that  Santa  had  been  there. 

He  had  brought  a  fine  tree  and  trimmed  it  with  shiny  balls 
and  bells.  There  were  many  packages  on  the  tree  and  many 
beneath  it. 

She  went  to  the  tree  and  found  a  large  doll  and  carriage, 
which  she  wheeled  around  for  a  while. 

She  thought  she  would  like  to  play  with  one  of  the  bells  on 
the  tree;  but  the  one  she  wanted  was  too  high  up. 

She  got  a  chair  to  stand  on ;  but  she  could  not  quite  reach  it. 
She  pulled  on  the  tree.  Oh,  what  a  noise !  The  tree  had  fallen 
over. 

What  was  that?  Was  it  Santa  coming  back  to  see  what 
she  had  done  ?  No ;  it  was  mother  and  father  running  down  the 
stairs.  They  came  into  the  room  where  Wanda  was.  Poor 
little  girl;  she  was  so  frightened  she  could  not  cry  or  move. 
Her  mother  came  and  picked  her  up  in  her  arms.  She  said,  "It 
will  be  alright,  Daddy  will  fix  it,  and  we  will  go  back  to  bed." 

So  she  took  Wanda  back  and  put  her  in  bed,  where  she 
stayed  until  morning  came. 

37 


When  she  went  to  the  tree  again  it  was  as  pretty  as  before, 
and  she  had  a  fine  time  playing  with  her  toys. 


Civic  League  Projects 

Ada  G.  Ale,  Eighth  Grade,  Junior  High  School  Nv.  2, 
Trenton,  N.  J. 

The  B28  Class  (boys)  in  the  Junior  High  School  No.  2 
carried  on  a  series  of  projects  for  one  year  under  the  guidance  of 
the  English  teacher. 

PROJECT  I.    THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  Civic  LEAGUE 

The  628  boys  expressed  a  desire  to  carry  on  activities  sim- 
ilar to  the  projects  of  the  class  that  preceded  it.  As  the  drives 
for  "Thrift  Stamps,"  "Liberty  Loans,"  "Red  Cross  Activities," 
and  "War  Work"  were  over,  we  could  not  decide  on  suitable 
activities  the  first  week  of  school.  Finally  one-minute  speeches 
in  the  English  class  on  "Clean-up  Week"  gave  the  boys  the  im- 
petus. 

After  a  series  of  discussions  the  boys  decided  on  the  name 
"628  Civic  League."  The  organization  and  duties  of  the  officers 
led  the  weakest  pupil  to  assert  himself  and  to  grow  stronger  in 
ideas  and  expression  before  the  class.  Following  the  nomination 
of  officers  an  election  took  place  in  which  a  ballot  was  used. 

The  officers  chosen  were:  president,  vice-president,  sec- 
retary-treasurer, an  English  committee  and  a  civic  committee. 
The  cabinet  of  three  members  was  chosen  by  the  President.  Next 
a  constitution  was  framed.  From  time  to  time  amendments  were 
made  to  the  Constitution,  but  the  original  plan  proved  as  strong 
for  the  boys  as  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  does  for 
the  nation. 

Just  how  was  the  Constitution  planned?  At  this  stage  the 
class  resolved  itself  into  a  number  of  sub-committees.  The  boys 
gathered  in  working  groups  and  wrote  sections  of  the  Constitu- 
tion. They  consulted  other  groups,  until  finally  a  meeting  of  the 
entire  league  was  called  to  give  constructive  or  destructive  criti- 
cisms. 

True  to  the  name  of  the  organization,  the  boys  carried  on  a 
campaign  for  a  cleaner  room,  a  cleaner  school,  yard  and  street, 
and  a  better  Trenton.  Backed  by  the  principal,  and  with  the 
co-operation  of  many  classes,  the  campaign  brought  results  that 
had  permanent  effects  in  the  entire  school. 

38 


PROJECT  II.    PLAYLET,  REFORMING  A  BAD  BOY 

While  the  Civic  Committee  and  its  assistants  were  busy  with 
the  Constitution,  the  English  Committee  sought  valuable  litera- 
ture, slogans,  posters,  etc.,  to  give  impetus  to  the  activities.  As 
the  result  of  a  "bad  boy"  in  our  midst — one  who  threw  orange 
skins  in  the  street — the  English  Committee  decided  that  "628" 
ought  to  give  a  play.  The  playlet  was  called  "Reforming  a  Bad 
Boy."  I  was  not  asked  to  assist  until  all  plans  were  made  by  the 
committee.  The  scenes  were : 

Time — One  day. 

ist — A  Street  Scene.     (A  group  of  boys  decide,  what  to  do 

with  the  "bad  boy;"  10  A.  M.) 

2d — A  Visit  to  the  Street  Commissioner,     (n  A.  M.) 
3d — In    Commissioner   Fell's   Office;    or,   The    Bad   Boy's 

Dream.     (After  lunch.) 
4th— The  Civic  Parade. 

The  civic  parade  was  especially  effective  in  its  ap- 
peal for  a  better  Trenton.  There  were  forty-two 
boys  in  line  on  the  stage.  The  banners  bore  slogans 
that  made  a  lasting  impression.  Many  boys  carried 
brooms,  brushes  and  shovels.  A  parody  on  "Half 
a  League  Onward,"  entitled  "Civic  League  Onward," 
ended  the  performance.  The  play  was  given  twice 
in  the  home  school,  and,  at  the  request  of  our  Super- 
intendent, it  was  given  in  other  schools,  with  Com- 
missioner Fell  a  guest  at  the  last  performance. 

RESULTS 

The  result  of  this  play  was  the  creation  of  a  better  class 
spirit,  a  co-operative  school  interest,  and  a  wide-awake  interest 
in  studies  and  in  Americanization.  The  room  was  always  the 
cleanest  and  most  attractive  in  the  school.  At  their  request,  the 
boys  were  granted  permission  to  sandpaper  the  desks  and  varnish 
them  and  to  varnish  the  woodwork  in  the  room.  I  received  a 
desk  and  a  chair  to  add  to  the  appearance  of  the  room.  Suitable 
pictures  were  always  placed  by  the  boys  to  commemorate  birth- 
days, holidays  and  events.  Any  magazine  bearing  any  relation 
to  the  school  always  found  its  way  to  the  library  table.  A  large 
American  flag  was  purchased  by  the  class. 

PROJECT  III.    BETTER  ENGLISH  WEEK 

The  laboratory  method  was  easily  applied  to  the  English 
work.  The  results  brought  the  enthusiastic  support  of  the  stu- 
dents. Besides  the  necessary  drill  work  to  cover  the  course  of 

39 


study,  the  pupils,  eager  for  effective  self-expression  in  speech, 
planned  "One-Minute  Talks,"  "Debates  in  English  and  History" 
as  well  as  in  "Current  Events,"  "The  Use  of  the  Symposium  in 
English,"  and  a  "Better  English  Week." 

As  the  result  of  a  debate  on  "All  Men  Should  Wear  Over- 
alls," the  boys  pledged  themselves  to  aid  their  parents  in  reducing 
the  high  cost  of  living.  They  wore  and  encouraged  the  wearing 
of  overalls.  They  also  pledged  themselves  to  do  without  candy 
and  other  luxuries.  The  first  day  that  the  boys  started  to  school 
in  overalls  they  were  halted  by  a  reporter.  Regardless  of  the  big 
headlines  in  the  papers,  the  overalls  were  worn  until  the  last  day 
of  school.  A  moving  picture  firm  asked  permission  to  take  their 
pictures,  and  the  boys  were  real  "movie  stars"  in  the  schoolroom 
when  they  recited,  conducted  their  meetings,  etc.,  for  the  screen. 

SPELLING 

From  a  body  of  poor  spellers  they  developed  into  a  group  of 
successful  ones.  In  the  contest  throughout  the  city  for  time  and 
accuracy  on  the  correct  spelling  of  the  one  hundred  "Jones 
Demons"  the  boys  won.  The  examiner  dictated  the  words  in 
6  minutes  35  seconds,  and  from  the  4,200  words  written  (42 
boys — 100  words)  there  were  but  three  errors.  Thus  they  won 
the  city  championship.  In  the  contest  for  the  spelling  of  the 
"Ayres'  One  Thousand  Words,"  ten  boys  were  successful  and 
they  were  awarded  buttons. 

A  "BETTER  ENGLISH"  DRIVE 

After  three  months  work  in  the  English  class  where  social- 
ized lessons  were  general,  the  pupils  came  to  realize  how  we 
daily  mutilate  our  language  with  slang,  illiterate  expressions,  and 
ungrammatical  forms,  and  we  wondered  what  we  could  do  to 
help  eradicate  those  errors  which  cheapen  our  language  and 
make  it  such  a  difficult  one  for  the  foreigners  to  learn.  About 
this  time  the  class  circulated  the  question,  "What  can  you,  as 
a  member  of  628  class  do  to  be  patriotic  in  this  drive  against 
our  common  errors  in  speech?" 

The  class  first  made  a  list  of  errors  which  were  common  to 
the  class.  In  a  week  the  number  of  errors  was  reduced.  The  list 
of  common  errors  was  printed  in  the  print  shop  and  the  boys  gave 
the  lists  to  the  pupils  in  their  classes  and  to  all  classes  that 
asked  for  the  list.  The  pupils  maintained  that  they  frequently 
made  errors  because  there  was  no  way  provided  for  them  to  know 
that  the  expressions  were  incorrect. 

The  work  in  the  print  shop  included  slogans,  mottoes  and 
a  pledge.  The  co-operation  between  the  English  work  and  the 
print  shop  vitalized  the  whole  situation. 

40 


OUR  PLEDGE 

I  love  the  United  States  of  America. 
I  love  my  country's  flag. 
I  love  my  country's  language. 
I  promise: 

1.  To  try  to  articulate  clearly  and  to  speak  pleasantly. 

2.  To  do  all  in  my  power  to  use  clear,  correct  English 
for  the  sake  of  those  to  whom  I  speak. 

Posters  and  slogans  printed  by  pupils  and  used  in  the  class- 
room : 

SHOW  YOUR  PATRIOTISM 

by 
IMPROVING  YOUR  SPEECH 

BETTER  SPEECH 

for 
BETTER  AMERICANS 

THREE  ESSENTIALS 

SPEAK 

CORRECTLY 

DISTINCTLY 

PLEASANTLY 

BETTER  ENGLISH;  BETTER  JOBS 

GOOD  ENGLISH  IS  A  HABIT 
GET  THE  HABIT 

SPEAK  THE  LANGUAGE  OF 
YOUR  FLAG 

POOR  SPEECH  IS  AN  OX-CART. 

GOOD  SPEECH  IS  AN  AEROPLANE. 

WILL  YOU  PLOD  IN  THE  MUD, 

OR  WILL  YOU  FLY? 

SPEAK  ENGLISH 

The  work  in  the  print  shop  stimulated  the  desire  to  improve, 
for  skill  in  the  use  of  English  was  found  to  be  necessary  there. 

41 


Finally  the  main  week  of  the  drive  began.  The  exercises 
were  as  follows : 

Monday — Tag  day;    checking  up  errors. 

Tuesday — A  speech  on  "Good  English." 

Wednesday — Class  Meeting.     Signing  of  pledge. 

Thursday — Spelling  Contest. 

Friday — Composition  Contest. 

By  request  the  drive  was  continued. 

Second  Week 

Tuesday — One-minute  speeches. 

Friday — Debate,  "Resolved,  that  English  is  our  most  im- 
portant subject/' 

Third  Week 

Friday — Playlet,  planned,  executed,  and  judged  by  the 
students :  "The  Trial  of  the  Four  Verb  Brothers." 

Unconsciously  the  drive  continued  throughout  the  year. 

RESULTS 

In  commenting  on  the  results  of  the  drive  a  pupil  wrote, 
1  'English  Week'  was  not  what  I  expected  it  to  be,  it  was  more." 
Another  wrote,  "I  just  thought  that  we  would  have  a  good  time 
and  get  out  of  some  home  work,  but  after  such  good  times  it 
makes  a  boy  feel  'cheap'  to  make  one  of  the  errors  that  he  made 
before  'English  Week.' '  A  third  wrote,  "I  have  learned  that 
good  English  cannot  be  acquired  quickly;  that  it  takes  a  lifetime 
to  build  up  one's  command  of  the  language." 

PROJECT  IV — DRAMATIZING  DAVID  COPPERFIELD 

While  these  projects  were  unfolding  in  the  English  room, 
another,  the  climax  of  the  year's  work,  was  in  embryo. 

The  literature  lessons  for  two  months  were  in  David  Cop- 
perfield.  Reading  the  story  and  the  assignments  in  Oral  Eng- 
lish covered  a  period  of  two  months  (2  lessons  a  week).  Mem- 
bers of  the  class  conducted  the  lessons  for  one  week.  When  the 
leaders  failed  to  get  the  vital  parts  I  took  up  the  thread  of  the 
story.  Perhaps  my  own  love  for  the  story  granted  me  the  power 
to  present  the  setting  for  the  story  with  sympathy  and  enthusiasm. 
The  work  of  the  class  had  prepared  them  for  character  study, 
and  I  noticed  that  each  boy  always  gave  a  true  picture  of  the 
character  he  'described.  The  unusual  interest  in  the  story  and 
the  pride  in  aiming  to  be  a  good  leader  laid  the  foundation  for 
this  undertaking. 

42 


There  was  such  a  sigh  of  regret  when  the  story  was  com- 
pleted that  secretly  I  was  glad  that  it  was  Friday  and  that  by 
Monday  new  interest  would  arise.  But,  no;  on  Monday  I  found 
a  note  on  my  desk.  It  read : 

Dear  Miss  Ale : 

If  you  are  willing  for  us  to  have  a  play  called  "David  Cop- 
perfield,"  we  will  give  only  his  child  life.  Please  sign  here. 

,  English  Committee. 

(Name) 

,  English  Committee. 

(Name) 

,  English  Committee. 

(Name) 

,  Teacher. 

Of  course  I  signed ;  but  in  three  weeks  school  was  to  close, 
and  I  hesitated  about  the  time.  The  first  step  in  playmaking  is 
to  find  the  story,  and  that  we  had.  We  had  read  the  story  and 
retold  it,  and  we  retold  the  "high  lights"  again.  Then  a  whole 
lesson  was  given  to  an  informal  discussion  and  an  exchange  of 
views  regarding  the  parts  to  be  selected.  There  was  so  much 
to  be  said  that  the  boys  soon  split  up  into  little  groups,  determined 
by  their  interest  in  the  adoption  of  certain  sections  of  the  story, 
the  working  out  of  the  characters  or  the  allotment  of  parts.  The 
boys  knew  just  what  they  could  do  best. 

The  scenes  chosen  were : 

1.  An  Evening  at  Home  with  Mother  and  Peggotty. 

2.  The  Home  After  the  Step-Father  Arrives. 

3.  At  the  Inn  (on  the  Way  to  Salem  House). 

4.  A  Day  at  Salem  House. 

5.  Finding  Aunt  Betsy. 

6.  In  Betsy  Trotwood's  Home. 

It  was  decided  to  have  a  number  of  the  class  tell  the  con- 
necting links  of  the  story  before  each  scene. 

The  active  form,  in  which  boys  conduct  their  lessons,  gives 
them  an  understanding  of  the  relationship  between  learning  and 
doing,  and  between  study  and  practice.  These  boys  as  they  put 
their  heads  together,  making  a  play,  forgot  self,  forgot  hard 
work,  but  thought  as  a  unit  towards  such  a  production  of  the 
story  of  little  David  Copperfield  as  would  teach  their  schoolmates 
to  love  him  as  they  did. 

The  play  was  prepared  in  this  way :  Each  character  in  each 
scene  was  to  study  his  own  part  and  then  plan  what  he  was  to 
say.  The  story  itself  provided  much  of  the  conversation.  I 
expected  difficulties  to  arise  in  teaching  the  boys  how  to  imper- 

43 


senate  the  female  characters.  But,  no;  one  explanation  was 
sufficient.  Mrs.  Copperfield,  Peggotty,  Miss  Murdstone  and 
Miss  Trotwood  were  typical  in  dress  and  actions.  The  parents 
co-operated  and  I  had  very  little  to  do  in  the  matter  of  dress, 
wigs  and  make-up.  "Mrs.  Copperfield"  was  as  pretty  as  David's 
mother  was  pictured  in  the  story.  He  was  a  shy  boy  who  had 
never  taken  a  prominent  part  in  school  activities,  nor  did  his 
mother  know  that  it  was  her  son  who  represented  Mrs.  Copper- 
field.  Betsy  Trotwood  was  impersonated  by  another  boy  who 
had  not  been  understood  by  the  teachers — inactive  in  every  lesson 
but  English. 

At  first  the  play  was  produced  in  the  class  room,  to  which 
the  principal  and  several  teachers  had  been  invited.  A  quotation 
from  the  principal  will  explain.  "This  class  has  certainly  been 
doing  things  this  year — from  getting  into  trouble  up  to  worthy 
causes.  I  have  always  thought  that  David  Copperfield  was  too 
hard  for  students  in  the  eighth  grade;  but  I  see  that  it  isn't." 
We  were  invited  to  give  the  play  the  last  week  as  a  part  of  the 
closing  exercises.  It  is  needless  for  me  to  say  that  everything, 
even  to  the  "curtains,"  passed  off  like  clock  work. 

VALUES 

Remarks  by  the  boys  will  give  the  evaluation  of  the  project: 

"It  was  better  than  the  movies." 

"It  is  the  best  year  I've  had  in  school." 

"We  will  make  such  a  success  of  this  play  that  future  classes 
will  have  a  hard  time  to  excel." 

"We  will  not  fail  in  this  undertaking ;  we  are  professionals." 

"We  will  make  our  English  teacher  proud  of  her  work  this 
year." 

"I  am  sorry  it  is  vacation  time." 

With  this  last  project  directly  in  line  with  the  social  needs  of 
our  students,  the  class  solved  many  English  problems,  such  as 
the  necessary  correct  speech  forms,  the  appreciation  and  inter- 
pretation of  subject-matter,  and  the  ability  to  choose  the  main 
thought  in  a  classic.  It  gave  the  pupils  opportunity  for  self- 
realization  and  for  social  adjustment.  The  purposeful  activities 
awakened  in  the  boys  new  and  lasting  interests. 

The  "Go  Family" 

A.  Alces,  Eighth  Grade,  Emerson  School,  West  Hoboken,  N.  /. 

SITUATION 

During  the  school  year  we  had  been  correcting  faulty  gram- 
mar, incorrect  pronunciation,  common  incorrect  expressions,  and 

44 


careless  enunciation.  Captains  had  been  chosen  for  each  of  the 
classes,  also  two  pupils  to  act  as  first  and  second  lieutenants, 
respectively.  Class  books  were  made  by  these  captains,  wherein 
all  errors  were  listed.  Once  a  week  these  errors  were  read  by  the 
captain,  the  poorly  constructed  sentences  being  correctly  recon- 
structed and  words  carelessly  enunciated  resounded  by  the  pupils 
who  had  made  the  mistakes.  Under  the  heading  "Observations," 
newspaper  clippings  were  brought  and  pasted  in  books,  and  sug- 
gested improvements  made  in  word  use.  The  captain  recorded 
any  report  given  regarding  poorly  worded  advertisements  or 
signs  in  windows.  These  errors  were  carefully  noted  and  cor- 
rected by  the  class.  Pupils  thus  became  very  observant,  and  an 
awakened  interest  in  English  was  manifested.  The  English 
classes  had  been  studying  the  principal  parts  of  verbs,  and  I  sug- 
gested that  we  have  a  playlet,  entitled  the  "Go  Family,"  in  order 
to  emphasize  the  correct  use  of  "gone"  and  "went."  Immedi- 
ately the  class  became  interested,  and  they  were  told  that  should 
their  undertaking  prove  successful  we  might  later  try  something 
larger  and  more  elaborate. 

ACTIVITIES 

One  pupil  was  selected  to  write  up  the  playlet,  another  to 
make  a  large  dictionary,  and  still  another  to  make  the  placards 
to  be  used  in  connection  with  the  work.  The  large  dictionary 
was  made  of  pieces  of  wood  for  the  frame  work,  which  were 
covered  with  heavy  brown  wrapping  paper.  On  the  back  "Dic- 
tionary" was  printed  in  large  type.  This  was  placed  in  a  vertical 
position  on  the  platform,  and  was  large  enough  to  allow  the  small 
boy,  who  represented  "Ain't,"  to  try  to  force  his  way  into  the 
family's  emporium.  The  family  was  represented  by  "Went," 
eldest  brother;  "Has,"  "Have,"  "Had,"  brothers,  and  "Gone," 
youngest  of  the  family. 

At  first  we  find  Mrs.  Grammar  seated  outside  of  her  home, 
the  dictionary.  She  is  surrounded  by  the  sons,  "Has,"  "Have," 
"Had"  and  "Gone."  "Gone"  is  about  to  undertake  a  journey, 
accompanied  by  his  brothers,  and  his  mother  is  telling  him  that 
harm  will  never  overtake  him  if  he  will  be  sure  to  have  his 
brothers  with  him.  "Went,"  the  eldest  brother,  then  returns  and 
says  he  always  travels  alone  and  enjoys  solitude.  Among  the 
characters  we  find  a  policeman,  who  is  supposed  to  represent  "Mr. 
Intelligent  Public."  He  enters,  in  pursuit  of  "Ain't,"  who  has 
forced  his  way  into  the  dictionary,  much  to  the  indignation  of 
the  "Grammar  Family."  Needless  to  say,  "Ain't"  is  immedi- 
ately ejected. 


45 


RESUI/TS 

Much  enthusiasm  was  displayed  by  the  amateur  performers. 
The  school  showed  interest  and,  judging  from  the  applause  given, 
appreciated  the  class  effort.  Pupils  were  anxious  to  give  another 
performance,  and  our  reading  of  "Snow-Bound"  was  looked  for- 
ward to  with  awakened  and  renewed  interest. 


Health  Playlet 

Gracella  MacConnell,  Eighth  Grade,  Franklin  School, 
Trenton,,  N.  J. 

SITUATION 

Health  Week  was  a  special  period  set  aside  by  the  City 
Commissioners.  As  we  have  departmental  work  in  the  Junior 
High  School,  I  found  it  necessary  to  carry  the  project  out  with- 
out the  co-operation  of  any  other  teacher.  Most  of  the  classes 
decided  on  a  general  discussion,  but  the  8A  girls  decided  upon  a 
playlet. 

The  following  topics  were  suggested  for  discussion  by  the 
members  of  this  class :  Dirt,  carelessness,  gloom,  sickness,  ig- 
norance, as  a  hindrance  to  health.  As  an  aid,  cleanliness,  sun- 
shine, happiness,  rest,  exercise  and  knowledge. 

Since  they  wanted  a  playlet,  they  suggested  writing  their 
topics  as  characters,  so  everyone  wrote  on  the  topic  she  wished. 
A  committee  was  appointed  to  choose  the  best  work.  Each  pupil 
read  her  work.  The  best  was  chosen.  Those  who  were  to  take 
the  parts  of  the  characters  were  chosen.  Then  costumes  had  to 
be  provided.  These  were  suggested  by  the  participants.  The 
outline  of  the  playlet  was  written  by  one  of  the  pupils. 

They  conducted  their  own  rehearsals  and  planned  their  ar- 
rangement of  the  room.  They  invited  their  principal  and  three 
other  teachers,  as  well  as  another  eighth  grade  class.  It  was 
enjoyed  so  much  that  they  gave  it  again  at  the  Community  Health 
Meeting. 

HEAI/TH  PLAYLET 

A  mother  and  her  child  sit  by  a  table,  on  which  are  soiled 
dishes.     Crumbs  and  papers  are  on  the  floor.     The  child  has  her- 
head  bandaged ;  she  is  ill.    They  fall  asleep. 

The  spirits  of  Dirt,  Carelessness,  Gloom  and  Sickness  enter 
at  the  bidding  of  Ignorance.  Sickness  stands  by  the  child.  Each 
recites. 

Good  Health  arrives  and  calls  her  helpers,  Cleanliness,  Sun- 
shine, Happiness,  Rest,  Exercise  and  Knowledge. 

46 


As  they  recite  they  walk  toward  their  respective  opponents, 

who  disappear. 

Good  Health  calls  in  a  welfare  worker,  who  speaks  about 

tuberculosis  and  makes  an  appeal   for  the  sale  of   Red   Cross 

Christmas  seals. 

The  mother  and  child  wake  up.     The  child  looks  about  her 

and  then  tells  her  mother  of  her  dream.     She  decides  that  she 

feels  better,  so  they  at  once  begin  to  clean  the  room. 

The  following  illustrate  the  speeches  prepared  by  the  chil- 
dren: 

Ignorance — I  come  to  speak  of  Ignorance :  Some  people  are 
ignorant  because  they  do  not  have  a  chance  to  get  an  educa- 
tion. Others  are  ignorant,  not  because  they  did  not  have  an 
education,  but  because  they  are  careless  and  are  dependable 
on  others.  Such  people  are  called  "Vain  Pretenders  of 
Knowledge."  Ignorance  is  an  enemy  to  the  world.  Some 
people  are  careless,  allowing  dirt  to  be  in  their  homes. 
Windows  are  kept  closed,  so  there  is  no  fresh  air  or  sun- 
shine. Gloom  and  sickness  enter  the  homes. 

Sickness — I  am  Sickness.  I  reign  over  many  homes.  Some 
people  do  not  heed  me;  others  do.  I  keep  guard  over  this 
child;  she  is  under  my  control.  I  am  a  friend  of  Gloom, 
but  not  of  Good  Health.  Many  times  I  am  associated  with 
Carelessness.  I  am  in  many  forms.  I  am  conquered  some- 
times ;  though  I  do  not  like  this. 

Dirt — I  am  Dirt.  I  try  to  make  cities  believe  in  me.  In  some 
homes  I  am  driven  away.  Some  people  say  I  must  be 
avoided,  for  I  get  the  best  of  those  who  do  not  avoid  me. 
I  carry  germs  around  with  me;  also  sickness.  I  visited  a 
house  the  other  day  where  a  little  girl  was  sick.  I  began 
to  roam  around  the  room  and  in  a  few  days  I  had  my  work 
accomplished.  I  hope  I  shall  never  be  conquered.  The 
Board  of  Health  is  always  after  me,  but  I  hide  in  some 
house  where  they  shelter  me. 

Gloom — I  am  Gloom,  and  I  take  great  pleasure  in  making  people 
sick  and  sad.  I  am  very  hapov  when  people  give  me  the 
least  chance  to  come  into  their  lives  and  homes,  to  make 
them  unhappy.  My  greatest  and  worst  enemy  is  Sunshine. 
She  tries  to  push  me  out  whenever  she  can.  The  people  pro- 
voke me  when  they  try  to  push  me  out  and  they  can't. 
Sometimes  they  do  push  me  out  when  Sunshine  helps  them. 

Carelessness — I  am  an  invisible  little  creature ;  my  name  is  Care- 
lessness. Although  I  am  invisible  I  am  known  all  over  the 
world.  I  cause  sorrow,  deaths,  fires  and  bad  health.  In 
some  cities  and  towns  people  have  formed  organizations  to 

47 


ward  off  these  sufferings  that  I  cause  the  people.  But  in 
some  city  or  town  there  is  always  a  person  who  forgets  to 
forbid  me  to  enter  his  home.  It  may  be  for  only  a  day  or 
an  hour.  Nevertheless  I  can  do  much  damage  in  that  time. 
Good  Health — I  am  Good  Health.  In  order  to  obtain  the  great- 
est blessing  in  life,  good  health,  we  must  establish  three 
important  factors.  They  are  Sunshine,  Fresh  Air  and  Sub- 
stantial Food.  Good  Health  is  being  sound  or  whole  physi- 
cally, mentally  and  morally.  If  you  have  good  health  your 
business  career  will  be  successful.  Have  you  the  joy  of  good 
health?  Or  is  disease  lurking  at  your  door?  If  it  is,  you 
should  take  long  walks  in  fields  or  meadows,  where  the  air 
is  pure.  If  you  are  not  strong  you  should  not  work  in  a 
factory,  for  your  health  will  soon  break. 

Elections 

M.  Louise  Henry,  Bernards  High  School,  Bernardsville,  N.  J. 

SITUATION 

Since  the  elections  this  year  had  a  national  interest,  the  chil- 
dren in  the  community  civics  class  asked  many  questions  as  to  how 
it  was  clone.  In  the  text,  "Dunn's  Community  Civics,"  such 
topics  as  "Our  Community,"  "Our  National  Community,"  "The 
World  Community,"  made  a  transition  to  the  issues  of  the  cam- 
paign logical  and  simple.  Therefore,  by  means  of  an  "election," 
we  took  up  both  the  process  of  election  and  a  very  simple  study 
of  political  parties  and  campaign  issues. 

From  one  of  the  pupils,  whose  father  was  on  one  of  the  local 
election  boards,  we  were  able  to  secure  an  old  canvasser's  book, 
a  poll  book  and  a  copy  of  the  election  laws.  The  whole  process 
of  election,  from  writing  of  petitions  to  announcing  of  results, 
was  carefully  and  interestedly  followed.  < 

In  order  to  get  the  machinery  started,  I  appointed  a  pupil  to 
act  as  Secretary  of  State  and  County  Clerk.  I  also  had  the  pupils 
declare  their  party  preferences,  and  then  appointed  a  County 
Election  Board. 

ACTIVITIES 

The  pupils  then  went  about  the  business  of  writing  petitions 
and  getting  signers.  Every  pupil  in  the  civics  classes,  which  con- 
tained one-half  of  the  freshmen,  wrote  a  petition  to  be  candidate 
for  some  office.  The  form  given  by  the  election  law  was  fol- 
lowed,, and  each  petition  was  signed  by  five  legal  voters.  By 
legal  voters,  we  agreed  to  mean  every  freshman  in  school.  We 

48 


called  this  class  the  First  Election  District  of  Bernards  High 
School.  The  petitions  were  handed  by  the  petitioners  to  Clifford 
Ludlow,  the  Secretary  of  State  and  County  Clerk,  who  then  met 
with  the  County  Election  Board  and  made  out  the  ballot  for  the 
primaries.  Meanwhile  the  County  Board  met  and  chose  the  Dis- 
trict Election  Board.  This  board  then  selected  a  day  for  regis- 
tration, chose  the  canvassers,  and  succeeded  in  registering  practi- 
cally all  the  voters.  The  board  next  copied  and  posted  the  list  of 
voters  and  arranged  for  the  primaries.  The  boys  on  the  board 
secured  boxes  for  ballots,  arranged  the  table  and  voting  booth. 

On  the  day  of  primary  elections,  October  I4th,  the  members 
of  the  board  in  charge  of  the  polls  were  very  careful  to  see  that 
the  voters  passed  in  and  out  as  persons  do  at  State  elections,  and 
that  order  was  preserved.  The  commercial  department  had  al- 
ready mimeographed  the  ballots,  as  planned  by  the  County  Board, 
and  the  members  of  the  board  folded  and  numbered  them  and 
kept  the  poll  book,  as  required  by  law.  After  the  polls  closed  the 
board  counted  the  ballots,  making  out  the  tally  sheet  properly. 
The  results  were  then  announced  in  class.  These  elections  re- 
sulted in  two  full  tickets,  which  were  posted  in  a  conspicuous 
place.  Ballots  resembling  the  usual  official  ballots  were  prepared. 

One  week  before  the  general  elections,  which  took  place  on 
October  28,  1920,  the  active  campaign  began.  The  class  perio.ds 
were  devoted  to  a  discussion  of  the  issues  of  the  national  cam- 
paign, particularly  of  the  League  of  Nations,  the  pupils  bringing 
in  material  and  becoming  violently  partisan  in  the  discussion. 
About  this  time  posters  for  various  favorites  appeared  in  the 
freshman  session  rooms  which  made  up  District  No.  I.  From 
the  national  issues  we  came  to  local  issues.  Each  candidate  found 
out,  sometimes  from  an  actual  office-holder,  the  duties  of  his 
office,  and  made  a  speech  stating  those  duties  and  his  good  inten- 
tions about  them.  The  pupils  who  had  been  defeated  in  the  pri- 
maries made  speeches  for  their  party  or  for  favorite  candidates. 
Every  pupil  made  at  least  one  speech,  and  most  made  several. 
The  day  before  and  the  day  of  election  several  freshmen  not  in 
the  Community  Civics  Class  came  to  hear  the  speeches,  and  often 
were  even  moved  to  speak. 

At  the  request  of  the  pupils,  a  new  election  board  took 
charge  of  the  general  elections.  Whenever  we  departed  from  the 
legal  procedure,  as  in  this  case,  the  proper  method  was  carefully 
explained,  with  the  reasons  for  our  change.  This  board  held 
another  registration  day,  arranged  the  polls  as  before,  superin- 
tended the  election  and  counted  the  votes.  Some  excitement 
was  created  among  members  of  the  election  board,  the  freshmen 
and  the  students  in  general  by  the  fact  that  several  of  the  teach- 

49 


ers,  who,  of  course,  were  not  registered,  attempted  to  vote.  The 
attached  letters  are  self-explanatory,  and  served  to  show  the 
pupils  situations  which  they  must  be  prepared  to  meet.  They 
were  rather  pleased  to  learn  that  a  somewhat  similar  incident  had 
actually  occurred  in  one  voting  district  of  the  township,  and  the 
procedure  followed  was  the  same  as  was  advised  for  Mr.  Aungst. 
The  Board  took  great  pleasure,  when  counting  the  ballots, 
in  throwing  out  the  "marked"  ones,  of  which  there  were  a  rather 
large  number,  owing,  probably,  to  the  fact  that  half  of  the  voters, 
not  having  been  in  class,  had  had  no  instruction  in  voting. 

RESULTS 

This  plan  of  instruction  proved  worth  while.  All  Fresh- 
men learned  something  of  the  method  of  voting.  By  means  of 
it  the  pupils  were  stirred  to  study  the  campaign  issues  at  first 
hand,  to  learn  some  definite  facts  about  the  League  of  Nations, 
to  find  out  what  political  parties  are,  what  they  stand  for  and 
why  we  have  them.  They  were  obliged  to  look  up  the  duties 
of  the  various  offices  for  which  they  were  running,  and  the  whole 
class  was  held  responsible  for  the  information  brought  in.  The 
township  officers  especially  were  made  to  seem  more  real  and  the 
class  came  to  realize  that  there  was  a  definite  relation  between 
every  individual  and  the  township  clerk.  For  instance,  they  found 
that  dog  and  hunting  licenses  are  secured  from  him.  They  came 
to  see  that  a  closer  relationship  exists  between  the  subject  of 
Community  Civics  and  their  duties  as  citizens,  and  when  we  re- 
turned to  the  text-book  they  took  it  up  with  more  enthusiasm  and 
purpose.  Considering  the  small  amount  of  work  involved,  the 
plan  was  more  than  worth  while. 


To  Be  Torn  Off  by  the  Judge  of  Election 

Fold  to  this  line 


No. 


DEMOCRATIC  PRIMARY  TICKET 

HIGH  SCHOOL  OF  BERNARDS,  SOMERSET  COUNTY,  ELECTION  DISTRICT  No.  i 

OCTOBER  14,  1920 


Mark  a  cross  X  in  the  space  at 
whom  you  wish  to  vote. 


the  left  of  the  name  of  the  person  for 


For  Member  of  House  of  Represen- 
tatives Vote  for  one 
ERNEST  GUEST 

For  Member  of  State  Senate 

Vote  for  one 
MARY  GUEST 
ETHEL  VALENTINE 

For  Member  of  General  Assembly 
Vote  for  one 

WlLMA  DUEEORD 


For  Coroner 


Vote  for  one 


For    Member    of    Board    of    Chosen 
Freeholders    (3  yr.  term) 

Vote  for  one 
SARTELL  MOORE 

For    Member    of    Board    of    Chosen 
Freeholders  (2  yr.  term) 

Vote  for  one 


For  Member  of  the  Board  of  Chosen 
Freeholders   (i  yr.  term) 

Vote  for  one 


For  Member  of  the  Township 
Committee  Vote  for  one 


For  Collector  of  Taxes 

Vote  for  one 


For  Road  Supervisor 

Vote  for  one 


For  Township  Clerk 

Vote  for  one 
WILLIAM  ACKEN 

For  Member  of  County  Executive 
Committee  Vote  for  one 


For  Constable 

Vote  for  two 


SAMPLE  AFFIDAVITS  AND  LETTERS 

Mr.  Louis  M.  Burton, 

Chairman  of  Board  of  Elections. 
Dear  Sir  : 

This  is  to  certify  that  I  am  a  citizen  of  District  No.  i, 
School  Election,  Bernards  Township;  that  I  have  resided  in  this 
district  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  thirty  days;  that  I  do  not 
claim  my  registration  elsewhere  and  that  I  am  duly  qualified 
to  vote  in  this  district  under  the  laws  of  New  Jersey. 

Signed,     pAUL  H    AXTEXL,. 

In  witness  whereof  I  have  affixed  hereunto  my  signature 
and  the  seal  of  the  district. 

Sworn  and  subscribed  to  before  me  this  28th  day  of  Octo- 
ber, 1920.  A.  C.  FERRY. 

My  term  expires  June  2j, 

5i 


November  9th,  1920. 
Mr.  Paul  H.  Axtell, 

Bernardsville, 

New  Jersey. 
Dear  Sir: 

As  you  have  gone  before  the  Notary  Public  and  he  has 
signed  his  name  saying  that  you  have  the  right,  we  therefore 
will  allow  you  to  vote  in  District  No.  i,  School  Elections  of 
Bernards  Township,  before  3  130  P.  M.,  October  28,  1920. 

Yours  truly, 

Lois  M.  BURTON, 
For  Board  of  Elections. 

October  28th,  1920. 
Honorable   Members   of   the   Election   Board,    District   No.    ir 

School  Elections,  Bernards  Township. 
Gentlemen : 

I  am  at  present  registered  to  vote  in  another  district  of  your 
county,  but  since  Registration  Day  I  have  moved  into  your 
district. 

To-day  is  the  3Oth  day  of  my  residence  within  your  district 
and  I  wish  to  know  from  your  board  what  procedure  I  must 
follow  in  order  to  be  allowed  to  vote  to-day,  before  the  polls 
are  closed. 

Very  hastily  yours, 

D.  FRED  AUNGST, 

DFA  MS  Supervising  Principal. 

10-28-20 

Writing  a  Play 

Paul  H.  Axtell,  High  School,  Bernardsville,,  New  Jersey. 

When  the  students  of  the  Senior  Class  began  to  talk  of  Class 
Day,  and  the  idea  of  giving  a  play  was  brought  up,  the  suggestion 
was  made  that  we  write  our  own  play.  I  made  no  comments 
other  than  to  say  that  if  they  undertook  it  they  must  realize  that 
it  was  a  big  job,  and  organize  the  work  accordingly.  Without 
much  difficulty,  and  without  any  suggestions  on  my  part,  the  fol- 
lowing plan  was  adopted : 

A  period  was  set  aside  for  the  discussion  of  methods  to  be 
used  in  writing  a  play,  at  the  end  of  which  five  leaders  werr3 
nominated  and  elected  by  the  class.  These  leaders  chose  their 
committees,  consisting  of  five  each.  The  leaders  in  turn  com- 
posed a  committee  of  five.  With  this  committee  arrangement, 

52 


the  actual  work  of  writing  a  play  went  forward.  On  the  first 
composition  day  each  member  of  the  class  wrote  a  plot  for  the 
play-.  During  the  class  period  the  committees  met  under  their 
separate  leaders  and  decided  which  was  the  best  plot  within  each 
group.  The  committee  of  leaders  then  met  and  selected  from 
among  the  best  five  plots  the  one  they  thought  would  be  most 
suitable  to  use  for  a  class  play.  The  name  of  this  play  was  "Lost 
and  Found/1  and  was  copied  in  detail  upon  the  board,  so  that 
each  member  of  the  class  might  become  familiar  with  the  details, 
and  make  a  copy  for  himself.  The  following  is  the  synopsis  of 
the  play  as  finally  developed : 

Act  I 
Scene  I— 

A.  A  group  of  girls  are  discussing  the  arrival  of  a  new  girl 

at  school  and  the  prospects  of  the  future. 

B.  The  girls  decide  to  initiate  Mary  Rose  into  the  Psi  Delta 

Nu,  although  she  is  a  sworn  friend  of  Miss  Frost, 
their  enemy. 
Scene  II — Same  social  room,  a  few  weeks  later. 

A.  By  ones  and  twos  the  boys  and  girls  join  the  group 

which  gathered  the  afternoon  after  the  Junior-Senior 
basket  ball  game. 

B.  It  is  learned  that  Jack  Smith  had  escorted  Mary  Rose  to 

the  game.    Much  curiosity  is  aroused. 

C.  The  group  disperses  after  talking  over  Virginia's  party, 

which  is  to  take  place  the  next  night. 

Act  II 

Scene  I — Drawing  room  in  the  Dare  home.  , 

A.  The  party  is  in  full  sway. 

B.  Mrs.  Brent  comes  to  make  apologies  for  Mary  Rose's 

absence. 

C.  Jack  Smith  is  chief  funmaker. 

D.  Bob  Gray  meets  Anne  for  the  first  time  and  becomes 

especially  fond  of  her. 

Act  III 
Scene  I — In  school  "gym." 

A.  News  is  spread  of  the  sudden  disappearance  from  col- 

lege of  Bob  Gray. 

B.  The  try-out  for  "As  You  Like  It"  begins,  under  Prof. 

Case's  supervision. 

C.  Characters  chosen  are : 

1.  Rosalind Anne  Pierson 

2.  Celia , Mary  R.  Briar 

53 


3.  Touchstone Jack  Smith 

4.  Orlando Jim  Barber 

5.  Oliver Fred  Davis 

6.  Jacques Nora  Burke 

7.  The  Duke Bill  Allison 

D.  Miss  Frost  is  furious  because  Mary  Rose  is  not  chosen 

for  Rosalind,  and  plans  to  help  her  outdo  Anne  by 
understudying  her. 

E.  Rehearsals  progress  remarkably  well. 

F.  After  the  last  rehearsal,  Mary  Rose  steals  Anne's  cos- 

tumes. 
Scene  II- 

A.  Anne,   through   Mary   Rose's   strategy,   arrives   late   at 

school  and  discovers  the  theft.  She  immediately  dis- 
closes the  fact  to  Prof.  Case. 

B.  Jack  hears  of  it  and  immediately  suspects  Mary  Rose. 

He  proves  her  guilt.  As  he  knew  the  Brent  home 
well,  he  goes  alone  to  recover  the  costumes  left  in 
Mary  Rose's  room  at  her  home. 

C.  Jack  reaches  the  school  just  in  time. 

D.  Anne  is  an  overwhelming  success. 

E.  After  the  play  Bob  Gray  appears  and  is  first  seen  con- 

gratulating Anne. 

F.  A  happy  close  follows. 

Before  the  class  began  the  writing  of  the  play  I  loaned  the 
members  of  the  class  a  good  many  copies  of  modern  plays  in 
order  that  they  might  have  something  to  guide  them  in  writing 
both  the  plot  and  the  conversation  of  the  play.  The  actual  work 
of  writing  the  play  then  followed.  The  first  scene  of  the  first 
act  was  written  by  every  member  of  the  class — the  best  first  scene 
was  selected  from  each  group.  Then  the  committee  of  leaders 
met  and  wove  the  best  five  first  scenes  into  the  final  first  scene. 
This  was  then  handed  to  the  typewriting  students  of  the  class, 
to  be  typed  and  returned  to  the  groups  for  correction.  The  final 
act  was  then  handed  to  the  instructor.  This  was  the  method 
used  in  writing  the  scenes  of  each  act. 

Each  member  of  the  class  was  asked  to  write  a  description 
of  the  methods  employed  in  writing  the  senior  plan.  One  of 
these  follows : 

RUTH  PALMER  English  IV 

How  WE  WROTE  OUR  CLASS  PLAY 

The  project  of  writing  a  play  was  undertaken  by  the  class 
of  1921  in  a  systematic  and  well-organized  way.  After  a  class 

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recitation  devoted  to  the  consideration  of  the  important  points 
in  play  writing,  several  short  plays  were  distributed  among  the 
members  of  the  class.  The  object  of  this  distribution  of  plays 
was  to  enable  the  pupils  of  the  class  to  get  ideas  for  plots,  and 
the  development  of  plots.  Then,  as  a  theme  assignment  for  the 
next  Monday,  we  wrote  individual  plots  for  plays. 

The  first  step  in  the  selection  of  the  best  plot,  and  the  one  to 
be  used  as  the  basis  of  our  class  play,  was  the  selection  by  the 
class  of  the  best  five  plots.  Then,  after  further  consideration 
of  these  five,  the  class  voted  the  plot  "Lost  and  Found,"  as  the 
best  one  to  use. 

The  next  thing  to  do  in  order  to  go  about  the  writing  of  the 
play  systematically  was  to  decide  on  some  way  whereby  we  could 
write  up  the  conversation  of  the  play.  The  class  voted  on  five 
members  of  the  class  to  be  chairmen  of  committees ;  the  chairmen 
chose  the  first  member  of  the  committee,  that  member  another, 
and  so  on,  until  all  the  pupils  in  the  class  had  been  chosen.  Under 
such  a  system  of  organization,  we  started  to  write  the  conversa- 
tion. 

The  method  we  adopted  for  getting  one  report  from  the 
whole  class  was  very  simple,  although  the  task  of  writing  this 
conversation  was  not  an  easy  one.  Each  individual  in  the  class 
wrote  the  conversation  for  the  first  scene  of  the  first  act;  then, 
in  each  committee,  the  individual  reports  were  combined  into  a 
committee  report,  the  committee  reports  were  likewise  combined 
into  one  class  report  of  the  first  scene  of  the  first  act.  The  com- 
mittee reports  were  written  by  some  member  of  each  committee 
appointed  by  the  chairman ;  the  class  report  was  written  up  by  a 
member  of  the  class  appointed  by  the  five  committee  chairmen 
or  by  the  chairman  of  one  of  the  groups. 

As  each  one  of  the  class  reports  was  handed  in,  a  typewritten 
copy  was  made.  This  was  corrected,  and  suggestions  were  made 
for  better  construction  and  expression.  It  was  intended  that 
each  person  in  the  class  should  have  a  copy  of  each  act,  as  it 
was  completed. 

At  one  of  the  meetings  of  the  class,  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  design  the  book,  should  we  put  it  into  book  form.  It 
has  not  yet  been  decided  whether  we  shall  put  it  in  book  form 
or  not.  The  entire  play  is  now  being  typewritten  and  copies  will 
be  put  into  the  hands  of  each  pupil  as  soon  as  they  are  completed. 

After  the  play  was  completed  it  was  decided  that  it  lacked 
many  elements  of  a  good  play  and  some  criticisms  were  written. 
One  of  these  follows : 


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RONALD  GUUCK  English  IV 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  PLOT 

The  play  in  its  present  form  seems  to  lack  a  firm  outline  of  a 
plot — there  is  no  definite  progress  of  events;  all  of  which  is  easy 
enough  to  say  but  quite  another  thing  to  remedy.  In  the  first 
place,  I  believe  our  original  plot  is  in  itself  rather  weak,  /.  e.,  the 
stealing  of  the  dress,  etc.  True  enough,  it  is  said,  great  writers 
can  produce  worthy  plays  upon  the  most  trivial  of  circumstances, 
but  it  seems  to  be  advisable  in  the  present  situation  to  develop 
the  plot,  by  making  it  a  bit  more  complex,  perhaps,  or  by  intro- 
ducing the  element  of  mystery,  an  essential  requisite  for  appeal- 
ing to  an  audience.  As  it  is,  there  is  no  "foreshadowing  of 
events"  whatsoever — we  have  failed  to  put  into  practice  the 
"dramatic  technique"  we  imagine  we  possess. 

So  much  for  what  we  haven't  done.  Now  for  what  we 
can  do.  In  the  first  place,  let  us  introduce  a  new  idea  into  the 
plot — it  doesn't  matter  what  it  is — there  are  hundreds  of  pos- 
sible ideas  which  might  well  be  interwoven  with  our  present  plot. 
The  thing  we  are  driving  at  is  simply  this :  We  first  need  a 
definite  goal  for  developing  our  plot,  which  may  afford  an  oppor- 
tunity for  the  introduction  of  mystery.  The  other  affair  is  a 
small  matter.  It  is  comparatively  simple  to  introduce  occasional 
"foreshadowings" ;  sentences  here  and  there  which  will  increase 
the  interest  of  the  audience. 

Again,  I  believe  the  conclusion  will  bear  improvement.  For 
often  is  an  otherwise  good  play  ruined  in  its  effect  on  the  audi- 
ence by  the  ending.  There  are  plenty  of  opportunities  for  an 
enjoyable  ending  without  the  usual  short-story-medodramatic 
ending.  The  idea  of  the  conclusion  is  perhaps  desirable,  yet 
could  it  not  be  introduced  a  trifle  more  skillfully,  more  adroitly? 

INSTRUCTOR'S  CRITICISM 

I  believe  that  the  writing  and  criticising  that  the  pupils  did 
was  of  very  great  value.  I  carefully  refrained  from  giving  sug- 
gestions or  criticising  the  results  beCause>I  wanted  to  see  just 
what  would  be  done.  The  result  is  not  bad.  A  play  of  about 
ten  thousand  words  has  been  written  which  is  without  any  ques- 
tion the  real  work  of  the  pupils.  It  lacks  the  imaginative  element 
and  there  is  no  plot  development;  but  some  of  the  conversation 
and  dialogue  is  especially  good.  I  do  not  believe  that  in  its 
present  form  it  is  good  enough  to  present  as  a  class  night  play; 
but  with  a  little  wrorking  over  it  could  be  made  into  a  play  that 
would  be  a  credit  to  a  high  school  class. 

Perhaps  there  are  many  who  think  that  such  a  project  is  not 
a  very  good  one.  Perhaps  it,  is  not ;  but  I  am  convinced  that 
students  who  write  a  play  of  ten  to  fifteen  thousand  words  and 
carefully  criticise  it  themselves  derive  some  value  from  the  under- 
taking. 

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_PAMPH1ET   BINDER 

Syracuse,  N.   Y. 


Stockton,  Calif. 


